Mushroom Kingdom Journeys!
by NatsumeSaga2
Summary: Join Lorenzo, a young boy, Sam, a Goomba, and Kaylee, a Koopa, as they travel the land and take on Gyms and Pokeathlons alike. All the traditional Mario characters are Gym Leaders/Elite Four Members and of course Bowser and his Koopa Troop are up to no good. What could they want with the Legendary Pokemon? Includes a few of my own Pokemon as well as existing ones.
1. The Journey Begins!

**(A/N: I do not own Pokemon or Mario, aside from a few OC's. Alright, welcome to my first story, I hope you guys like it! This was actually first published in Miiverse, believe it or not. I had to revise the format though. Anyways, this story will feature a couple of my original Pokemon too, alongside preexisting ones of course. **

**UPDATE: A version of the story that features strictly pre existing Pokemon is currently running parallel to this. That's there as an option. **

**Second Update: I added line breaks yay! [It took me a stupid amount of time to figure out how to do it]**

**So without further ado, here we go...)**

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_Chapter One: The Journey Begins!_

In times long past, powerful creatures known as Pokemon began to make their way to the vast and beautiful place known as the Mushroom Kingdom. The citizens befriended and worked together with these creatures, eventually setting off on journeys and deepening their bonds. No one knows exactly how they came to be, but it was certain that their appearance in the kingdom would forever change everything. In present times, one particular boy would start his own journey today...

It was in the southern part of the Mushroom Kingdom that a small town known as Mushrose Town presided. A young boy from this town was peacefully sleeping in his room, which was covered in mementos, Pokemon gear and photographs.

"Lorenzo, wake up!" His mother called.

"Alright, coming Ma." he said drowsily. He climbed out of bed and got ready. Today would be a big day. He would soon meet Professor E. Gadd and receive a starter Pokemon!

"Have any clue which one you'll pick?" his mother asked cheerfully.

"I'm not picking the one that Marvin chose, that's for sure." Lorenzo said as he packed up. His brother had set off on a journey earlier and always seemed to be one step ahead.

'It's hard to believe that I'll be a full-fledged trainer soon!' Lorenzo thought as he tied his shoes and adjusted his red hat. He gazed out the window and was greeted by the sight of lush gardens and frolicking Pokemon.

'Soon you'll be mine!' the brown haired boy mused. His mom gave him an odd look.

"I know you'll do well, just like your brother!" she smiled.

'I always get compared to him.' he inwardly groaned. "I'll do better than him!" he confidently declared. "I'll take over the league, and be famous, and get a movie deal and a video game..." he went on for a while.

His mother sweatdropped. "You're going to be late dear." He stopped. "That's right, well goodbye Ma! I'll call home as soon as I can."

"Good luck Lorenzo. Go show the world what you're made of!" With that, they parted ways and Lorenzo began to head over to the lab! It was a lush day, the perfect day to start a journey. Mushrose Town was a small tree lined town that was full of flowers, and mushrooms as well.

"Here I go-whooa!" he slipped over a rock and landed on something. That unfortunate something happened to be a Goomba with a blue beanie. "Just my luck!" the Goomba muttered. "First I get cursed with having no arms and then this happens!"

Lorenzo shot up. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"Whatever. I came to this town from Goomba Village. " the Goomba stood up. "Gonna be the first armless trainer. Yay for me, I guess." Lorenzo blinked at the young Goomba. "Anyway, the name's Sam."

"Well I'm Lorenzo, I'm starting my journey!" He looked at his watch. "And I was supposed to be at the lab 10 minutes ago!"

"I'm heading there too. We might as well walk together." Sam said.

Lorenzo nodded, "Sure thing, let's go!" he exclaimed as he began to sprint. "Stupid short legs..." the Goomba groaned.

'He's a bit of a downer.' Lorenzo thought as they approached the lab on the hill. The door was open and the two would-be trainers walked inside.

The idyllic exterior completley contrasted the chaotic interior. It was a mess in there! Research papers scattered, journals all over, unidentifiable chemicals spilled on the floor. The Professor soon descended down the stars and chuckled. He was a short, elderly man with swirl glasses and a lab coat.

"Greetings! Greetings! I am Professor E. Gadd." He smiled. "Please pardon the mess, my particle-transfusion-chromatic device exploded."

"What?" Sam said flatly. Lorenzo looked around. it was definetly a science-y type of place.

"I'm Lorenzo and I'm here to get my Starter Pokemon." the boy introduced himself. "And I'm Sam, the guy he crushed." Sam added.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both!" E. Gadd said. "You're in luck, you happen to be the first two trainers to arrive."

"So, where are the Pokemon?" Lorenzo asked. "Follow me kids." the man said and they went to a back room.

Lorenzo's eyes shone (and Sam looked bored). What stood before them were 3 Pokemon: a small, light green cub with leaves on its body, a red imp-like Fire type and a slightly draconic sea creature with a long tail.

"These are the starter Pokemon." E. Gadd explained. "Grolinguito, Embarge and Aquelip!" Lorenzo marveled at them.

"Why not get acquainted with them?" the Professor asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. Lorenzo nodded and approached them. Sam simply watched on.

"Hi Grolinguito!" Lorenzo said as he approached the Grass type. "Those are some cool looking leaves." He went to touch one but it shied away.

"It's a tad timid." E. Gadd explained.

Lorenzo nodded and went over to Embarge. "How's it going?" he greeted. Embarge extended his hand.

"Oh you wanna shake?" Lorenzo asked. "Cool!" He grabbed the Fire type's hand but immediately drew his hand back in pain.

"Hot hot hot!" the boy yelped as he jumped up and down.

"It can be a bit of a prankster." E. Gadd chuckled. Lorenzo blew on his hand while Sam stifled a laugh himself.

"Sheesh!" Lorenzo cried. He then turned to Aquelip. "Hey Aquelip!" he smiled. It playfully flicked its tail at him, causing him to slightly lose balance.

"Whooa, that's a powerful tail you have!" Lorenzo said, catching himself.

"Indeed!" the professor concurred. "Now that you got a little acquainted, which one will you chose?" The brunet looked at each one before settling on a decision.

"They're all pretty cool, but I think I'll choose Aquelip sir." Lorenzo confirmed.

"In that case, I'll pick Grolinguito." Sam stepped forward.

"Good choices you two! Make sure to take good care of them." E. Gadd smiled. "Also, Sam, this will be useful." He gave him a strap on mechanical arm from his cabinet.

"Kinda weird, but super helpful." Sam replied as he made it move.

"Also, here are your Pokedexes!" E. Gadd said as he handed them the devices. "Try them out, scan the three creatures before you." Lorenzo nodded and did as told.

"Grolinguito, the Leaf Cub Pokemon. They are exceptional climbers and spend nearly their entire lives in trees."

"Embarge, the Magma Pokemon. They are slightly mischievous in nature and are known to wear arm bands made of hardened lava to toughen up."

"Aquelip, the Trident Pokemon. These Pokemon have powerful tails that can cut even the largest tidal waves in half."

"Perhaps you can be as good as the Mario brothers!" E. Gadd mused. "They're super good, Professor, they're two of the top trainers in the kingdom!" Lorenzo noted.

"Yes, that is true, but they started off as newcomers, just like you two." the Professor told them. Suddenly another person burst into the lab. "My, this must be the other new trainer." E. Gadd said.

"I biked here as fast as I could!" the young female Koopa said. She had blonde hair in a ponytail and a red shell. "I'm Kaylee, nice to meet ya!"

"Well Kaylee, unfortunately, you can only choose Embarge. The others were taken." E. Gadd said. "Well luckily, I wanted Embarge right from the start! It's the perfect Pokemon for a fiery girl like me!

"Excellent! Here you go!" Kaylee received the ball. "It makes me happy to send young trainers on their way! I hope you all enjoy your journeys." E. Gadd remarked with a grin.

"We'll do our best!" Lorenzo said. Suddenly, a crash was heard in the back room. "Oh no!" E. Gadd said as he ran over. He was conducting research on a Salamence but it was going out of control!

The Dragon type was wrecking the already disorganized room, crashing through tables and breathing fire. "Please Salamence, what's the matter!?" E. Gadd asked frantically. It was usually very calm.

"Mence!" It unleashed a Hyper Beam! "Get down!" Kaylee shouted and they all ducked. "We have to do something!" Lorenzo said from the ground. "Just make sure you don't get fried." Sam deadpanned.

Lorenzo took a deep breath and slowly began to crawl over to the rampaging dragon. "I'm going too!" Kaylee said as she followed suit. Sam rolled his eyes, gave a silent prayer and followed as well.

"Salamence!" it cried. "Please calm down, here have a berry!" Lorenzo suggested but got a Hyper Beam back, which he narrowly avoided.

"Whoa, you okay, dude!?" Kaylee asked.

"I'm fine." he said as he stood up. Kaylee turned her attention to the dragon. "That's not cool!" It growled at her before lunging at the Professor!

"Oh no!" the three trainers cried as he was pinned down.

"That's it, Aquelip use Water Gun!" Lorenzo commanded. Aquelip sprayed Salamence but it did little damage. "Embarge, Ember!" Kaylee shouted.

Once again, the attack did practically nothing. As this was happening, Sam was crawling towards a shelf.

He tore though the contents before retrieving a large cloth. "Kaylee, Lorenzo! Have your Pokemon put this over Salamence's head! You gotta be quick!" Sam said to them.

The two looked at each other and nodded. "Aquelip!" "Embarge!" "Wrap this up!" they shouted in unison. Sam sweatdropped. "Was the lame pun necessary?"

The two Pokemon jumped behind Salamence and wrapped the cloth around his eyes! "Now, Grolinguito, Vine Whip his legs together!" The Grass type did as commanded and tied the dragon's legs up.

Salamence was temporarily immobile. "Here's the finishing touch!" Lorenzo said. He grabbed a sleep tonic off of the Professor's shelf and poured it in Salamence's mouth. Nighty Night!

"Awesome job guys!" Kaylee beamed. Lorenzo ran over to the Professor. "Are you okay Professor?" He slowly got up. "I'm not okay... I am fantastic! You three passed your first test as trainers!"

"HUH!?" the three trainers shouted. "As you can see, this was all an act. I wanted to test the teamwork between you 3 as well as the newly formed bonds between your Pokemon!" E. Gadd chuckled.

"I almost had a heart attack!" Lorenzo muttered, exasperated. "That's good acting for you!" E. Gadd replied. "But overall, the three of you passed with flying colors. I now pronounce thee, Trainers!"

E. Gadd continued. "You will soon embark on your journeys, and I want you to deepen your bonds and see every Pokemon in the Mushroom Kingdom! Can you do that?"

"I can do it!" Lorenzo confirmed. "You can count on us!" Kaylee nodded. "You got it!" Sam added.

The Professor nodded. "You three are ready. I hope you enjoy yourselves on your journey!"

With that, the three new trainers went outside. "We should totally travel together!" Kaylee said.

"Why not." Sam shrugged with his mechanical arm.

"Hold on young ones!" E. Gadd called over and the three turned around.

"What is it?" "You should head over to Diamond City. That's where the first Gym is! Trainers test their skills at Gyms." E. Gadd said to them.

"Sweet. I can't wait to get my first badge!" Lorenzo said.

"You'll need a map first so here you go!" E. Gadd gave them a map. "Happy travels!" "Salamence…" the Dragon Pokemon snoozed in the background.

"Bye Professor!" they bid farewell in unison. "I can't wait to face the Gym Leader!" Lorenzo thought out loud.

Kaylee shrugged. "I'm going to be a Pokeathlete! The best Pokeathlete I should say!"

"Let's focus on getting out of this sleepy town first." Sam said.

"You got it." Lorenzo exclaimed as he began to break into a run.

"Wait up, dude!" Kaylee ran after him.

"Hey! Guy with short legs over here!" Sam groaned. This was the start of their adventures, and what will await our heroes? You'll just have to wait and see!

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**(A/N: So there it is. It's not all that great but it's my first story here. Also if you want to see how some of my Pokemon look, I'm NatsumeSaga2 on deviantART. Feedback is appreciated! So, until next time!)**


	2. Into the Wild!

**(A/N: Hi all those who are interested! Welcome back to the story. This chapter will introduce our first villain as well as a couple new Pokemon. Hopefully it's a bit better than the previous one. Also, for the sake of picturing it, Embarge is the one on my profile picture :3 So here we go!)**

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_Chapter 2: Into the Wild!_

The sun was setting as Lorenzo, Sam and Kaylee took their first steps on Route 1. Trees, flowers, a small lake; It was the typical starting route for new trainers.

"Since our introductions were pretty spur of the moment, and we're gonna be spending a ton of time around each other, we might as well tell things about ourselves." Sam suggested.

"Alright." Lorenzo nodded. "Let's see, I come from Mushrose Town, and I want to take over the Mushroom Leagueof course. Oh yeah, and I have a big brother who apparently is Arceus's gift to mankind so I want to show the world that I'm good too!"

Now Sam spoke. "I don't have much to say, just a formerly armless guy that wants to make a good name for us Goomba folk."

Kaylee took the time to speak now, as she wheeled her bike along. "I wanna be the best Pokeathlete ever, and hopefully compete in the Pokeolympics." "I never heard of that before!" Lorenzo said. "Seems cool, doesn't it Sam?" Sam suddenly became silent.

"What's up Sam?" Kaylee asked as he was peering at a nearby bush. At that moment a small chipmunk Pokemon with a brown body and a light brown underside popped out of the bushes: a Chipsqueek!

"Look, a Chipsqueek!" Lorenzo beamed as he pulled out his Pokedex. "Chipsqueek, the Chipmunk Pokemon. These small Pokemon are known to gnaw on objects that they find interesting. They have a jittery, but endearing nature." "Cute!" Kaylee remarked.

Additionally, a small woodpecker Pokemon swooped down in front of the group. It was mainly black and red and had a sharp beak. "Another one." Sam said as he scanned it. "Pikuleck, the Woodpecker Pokemon. They make their home in trees and can rapidly peck through hard objects." Lorenzo took out a Pokeball. "I'm catching one of them!"

"Well, I'm catching one too!" Kaylee added as she threw a Pokeball. "Embarge, come on out!" "Embarge!" The two wild Pokemon looked at the young trainers.

"Aquelip, let's go!" Lorenzo shouted. "Aque!" the Water type cried. The four Pokemon went face to face with each other as Sam watched on in interest.

"Alright Embarge, use Ember on Chipsqueek!" Kaylee commanded. "Aquelip, Water Gun on Pikuleck!" Lorenzo shouted. The two attacks were unleashed on the wild Pokemon, however Pikuleck skillfully flew off to the side and Chipsqueek burrowed underground. "They're fast, you gotta take that into consideration." Sam told them.

Suddenly Pikuleck swept down and used Peck on Aquelip as Chipsqueek jumped out of the group and tackled Embarge! "Ooh, that gotta hurt!" Lorenzo shivered.

"Ah, you wanna play?" Kaylee yelled with fire in her eyes. "Embarge, use Scratch!" Embarge sped over to Chipsqueek and slashed it! "Nice." Sam commented.

"I wanna get a good hit in too," Lorenzo said. "Aquelip, Tail Whip!" Aquelip spun and slapped Pikuleck with his tail, lowering its Defense. "Now, Tackle!"

The move hit dead on and Pikuleck struck the ground. "I think it's time!" Lorenzo turned to Kaylee. She nodded. "Pokeball go!" they yelled in unison as they threw the ball at their targets!

They shook once... and then twice... and then a third time… CLICK! Pikuleck and Chipsqueek were caught! Lorenzo caught Pikuleck and Kaylee caught Chipsqueek.

"I caught my first Pokemon!" Lorenzo exclaimed as he picked up the ball. Kaylee put it on her belt and smiled confidently. "We rock!" Sam joined the two and put a thumb up with his mechanical arm.

"Hey, are you guys trainers?" A voice called over. The three looked over and noticed a small Koopa-like creature with a tall blue Mohawk, black arm bands and a blue shell.

"Yeah, we are trainers." Sam responded. Lorenzo and Kaylee observed the strange boy. "Well, what if I told you that I came up with an exercise regime that could boost your Pokemon to insane levels!?"

Lorenzo looked surprised. "Wow, really!?" The Koopa-esque boy nodded. "Yup, how would you like to give it a shot? All you gotta do is give me your Pokemon for a bit!"

Sam didn't look so sure. "Why exactly should we trust you on this?" The Koopa boy grinned. "You can trust me, promise!"

The rather naive Lorenzo released Aquelip and Pikuleck. "You guys are gonna get super strong!" he smiled."Embarge, Chipsqueek! Go!" Kaylee released her Pokemon as well.

"Okay, so here's how it works." The newcomer explained. "We're going to have your Pokemon run in these exercise wheels!" Sam looked on, still not trusting him.

"Sounds simple enough." Lorenzo said. Aquelip climbed in one. "This might be a little weird for Pikuleck though." Embarge ran over enthusiastically and Chipsqueek hopped on a wheel.

"Here we go!" a button was pressed and the Pokemon started to run with the motion of the machine. "Look at them go!" Kaylee beamed. The Koopa-esque boy grinned before he hit another button and soon the wheel transformed into a cage!

Lorenzo and Kaylee's expressions contorted with surprise! "What are you doing!?" Lorenzo shouted. The Koopa boy grabbed the cages and split! "Bye bye! Larry's gonna get himself a raise" he taunted.

Kaylee pulled out her foldable bike and began tearing down the route after Larry. "Darn, she's fast!" Larry remarked. "Take this!" he threw a smokebomb.

Kaylee lost control of herself and crashed into a bush. To make matters worse, she accidentally hit into a wild Pikachu, who electrocuted her bike in surprise! "My bike!" she cried.

As Kaylee was mourning her bike, the smog proved to be too thick for the boys to pinpoint the thief. The Pokemon were struggling in their cages but it was futile to break out, the cage was much too sturdy. However, one particular wild Pokemon jumped in Larry's path, preventing him from moving on.

"Debling!" it cried. It was a small duck like Pokemon. "Outta the way!" Larry shouted. "I'm trying to pull off a heist!"

It casually shot a Bubblebeam in his face. "Why I aughta!" Larry went to grab it but it jumped over him and flapped its wings, clearing the smoke!

Lorenzo, Kaylee and Sam stopped fumbling around and had a clear view of Larry once the smoke was cleared. "Hey, it's another Pokemon." Sam said as he pulled out his Pokedex.

"Debling, the Odd Duck Pokemon. It teases fishermen by grabbing bait with its hand-like tail. It has wings but is incapable of flight." (A/N: This Pokemon belongs to a friend of mine who wanted it in the story)

"Stupid duck, go away!" Larry yelled. It jumped on his head and began to peck him. "That's right Debling! Show him who's boss!" Kaylee yelled.

While Larry was disoriented, Debling used its hand-like tail and pried the cage open, freeing the 4 Pokemon inside.

"You have some nerve!" Lorenzo said angrily as he stood up. Kaylee hugged her two companions. "I'm so glad you're safe!" Lorenzo also cherished the moment and held his partners close.

Larry began to back away, knowing that the odds were stacked against him. "You're not going anywhere!" Sam shouted. These three were ready to deliver the finishing attack.

"Aquelip, Water Gun!" "Embarge, Ember!" "Grolinguito, Razor Leaf!" The three shouted. Debling added its own Bubblebeam for good measure and there was an explosion!

Larry flew off into the sky. "You'll see me agaaaiin!" Ding!

Sam looked over at Debling. "You were great out there!" It saluted him. "It's because of you that our Pokemon are safe!" Lorenzo said to the bird like creature.

Debling jumped on Sam's head. "I think he wants to come with us!" Kaylee said. "You don't say." Sam said. "Alright, here goes." He tapped Debling with a Pokeball and he went in.

Shake... shake... shake... Click! Debling was captured! "Awesome! Now we all have 2 Pokemon!" Lorenzo said. "Yup! But still, I'm minus a bike!" Kaylee cried. "It was a casualty of our little war." Sam retorted. "Now come on guys, we gotta get to Diamond City!"

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**(So there you have it. The next chapter will be a lot longer since some important stuff happens. Feedback is very appreciated so make sure to drop a fave or review. Also, virtual cookies for whoever can guess who the first Gym Leader is!)**


	3. Fierce Fighting in Springleaf Town!

**(A/N: A rather long, but action filled chapter. Enjoy!)**

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_Chapter 3: Fierce Fighting in Springleaf Town!_

After a rough day, the gang decided to set up camp in a clearing. "You guys needed to use your heads back there." Sam said as he sat on a log. "That guy really could've taken your Pokemon."

Lorenzo and Kaylee looked down. "I would've felt awful if something happened to my Pokemon because of me." Lorenzo said. Kaylee nodded. "From now on, just be careful." Sam yawned. It was late.

"Let's get some sleep." Kaylee said as she stretched. "It turns out that there's a town between here and Diamond City, so we got some walking to do." Lorenzo climbed into his sleeping bag.

As he laid there he gazed at the Pokeballs in his possession. 'I'll keep you guys safe no matter what.' he thought to himself before he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a dark castle far far away, a meeting was being held. "Sorry I'm late!" a battered Larry said as he walked inside. There were six other Koopa-like creatures , known as Koopalings, seated there.

"Where were you?" A female voice asked. "Did you get a good haul?" a different voice also asked. Larry shook his head. "I didn't steal any Pokemon at all." he admitted.

"You know King Bowser will be angry with you!" a third voice added. "We need a lot of Pokemon to build his army!" a fourth, gruff voice said. "I know, I know!" Larry groaned. Suddenly, heavy footsteps were heard and they all looked at the shadows that stood before them.

"It's the boss!" they all said. "And his son!" a young voice noted. King Bowser sat down in his large throne. "Koopalings, I hope you're ready to work hard, cause the Koopa Troop is taking over!" he roared. "Larry, Morton, Wendy, Iggy, Lemmy, Roy, Ludwig! Jr! We're gonna take the Mushroom Kingdom by storm!"

The room erupted into cheers. "Hopefully we actually steal something this time!" Morton taunted. "Shut it!" Larry snapped.

"Stealing Pokemon is only the beginning of our plan." a different voice cackled. "That's right Kamek. There are Legendary Pokemon hidden throughout the land. And only special people can wake 'em up!" Bowser said.

"Ah, that sounds so cool!" Lemmy beamed. "Imagine what we could do with that power!" Iggy giggled. "The whole kingdom will be ours!" Ludwig added. "And there'll be no stopping us!" Wendy finished.

"That's the second stage of our plan. But we still need a PokeArmy. So as for now, steal steal STEAL!" Bowser yelled. "Yessir!" they all replied. He burst into his typical laugh as the Koopalings and Bowser Jr took off, ready to cause chaos. Bowser and Kamek watched them go, with dark grins on their faces.

* * *

In the latter part of Route 1, Lorenzo, Sam and Kaylee were walking through the woods. Suddenly Lorenzo gasped. They had reached the next town. Springleaf Town!

"It may not be Diamond City, but at least we can rest!" Lorenzo said happily as he ran ahead. The other two followed. It was a small lakeside town with mainly Toads living there. There were several gardens as well, making it a peaceful place to live.

The three walked into the local Pokemon Center. "Here it is, a trainer's best friend, the Pokemon Center!" Sam explained. "Are you going to be our mentor for this whole journey?" Kaylee asked. He shrugged. "Maybe."

The three walked through the automatic door and looked at the scenery. It was certainly cozy in there. "Welcome to the Pokemon Center, I'm Nurse Joy!" the young woman greeted. "Here you can restore your partners to full health." Lorenzo looked at Sam.

"Lorenzo, you can trust her!" he laughed. "There's a difference between a Pokemon Center Nurse and some random guy in the woods." "Alright." he nodded.

"Here ya go!" Kaylee said as she handed her her Pokeballs. Lorenzo and Sam did likewise. "Your Pokemon will be returned shortly." she put the Pokeballs on a cart and a Chansey wheeled them away. "Until then, feel free to relax!"

So, the trio decided to sit at a table in the lounge area. Lorenzo looked through his Pokedex. "So far we've seen only 7 out of the many Pokemon in the Mushroom Kingdom." Kaylee was sipping a soda. "Yup, there's a lot of them!" Sam was looking at the map. "We should be able to spend a little more time here before we head out."

"You know, I think we should have a battle once we get to Route 2!" Kaylee stood up. "I may be a Pokeathlete and all but I still love the occassional battle!" Sam shrugged. "I guess so. I'm sure Grolinguito and Debling need the practice."

Lorenzo pouted. "Who will I battle then?" His two friends looked at each other. "You can always find someone to battle. Just ask around." Sam said. Meanwhile Kaylee was pumped. "I can't wait! Let's battle as soon as the Pokemon are healed!"

"Uhh okay. Have them get healed, then get hurt, then get healed again. Makes sense." Sam replied. "I can't tell if that was sarcasm or not, but oh well!" Kaylee smiled.

"In that case, I'll go look for someone." Lorenzo said as he walked around. He scanned the room until his eyes landed on a boy his age. He had spiky red hair wore a deep purple tank top. The boy was brushing a Leacria, a small alpaca Pokemon with light green wool. "Hey." Lorenzo said as he approached him. The boy turned around. "What?" he responded curtly.

"Well, uhh, my name's Lorenzo, and I was wondering if you wanted to battle." Lorenzo sheepishly said. The boy turned away. "Why should I waste my time? If I do battle I want a challenge, and I don't think you have the stuff!" Leacria peered at him. Kaylee and Sam walked over. "What's that?" Kaylee said as she pulled out her Pokedex.

"Leacria, the Cotton Alpaca Pokemon. Their thick wool absorbs the impact of attacks and can be shaken to release spores at enemies." "Neat." Sam commented. "I promise, I'll put up a good fight!" Lorenzo pleaded. "I really need the practice."

The redhead sighed. "Fiiine, I'll battle you." Lorenzo smiled. "But if you're not careful, you'll get crushed!" He paused before he walked off. "Also, the name's Wes, meet me here in a half hour." And with that he went outside.

Kaylee crossed her arms. "I don't think I like that guy." Sam nodded. "Yeah, some trainers have big egos. Anyway, how you holding up Lorenzo?" Lorenzo had his head down. "You alright dude?" Kaylee asked.

He looked up determinedly. "I'll show him! I'm not a weakling! I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!" The other two looked on and then nodded. "Show him what you're made of!" Kaylee said. At that point Nurse Joy called them. The Pokemon were fully healed.

"Thank you Nurse Joy!" the trio said in unison as they retrieved their partners. Kaylee turned to Sam. "So, you ready to battle?" He smiled confidently. "Bring it!" The two went to the battlefield inside the Pokemon Center, each taking a side.

Lorenzo watched from the sidelines. "You choose first." Sam called over. "Right, go Chipsqueek!" Kaylee shouted and the Chipmunk Pokemon was released.

"In that case, Debling, let's go!" Sam called. The two looked each other intensely. "Okay Chipsqueek, use Tackle!" Kaylee commanded. Chipsqueek charged at Debling!

"Debling, dodge and use Bubblebeam!" The Odd Duck Pokemon nimbly avoided the attack and Chipsqueek was hit by the barrage of bubbles! "Oh no!" Kaylee cried. But Chipsqueek was far from defeated.

Lorenzo looked on in awe. "Alright Chipsqueek use Bite!" Chipsqueek lunged forward and planted a bite on Debling. "Debling, use your tail to get him off!" Sam shouted.

Debling tried to pull Chipsqueek away, but its grip was strong. "In that case, use Water Gun!" Sam said. Debling hit Chipsqueek at a close range and the small Pokemon hit the ground!

Chipsqueek shakily stood up. "Wow, he's tough!" Lorenzo said. "Chipsqueek! Quick Attack!" Kaylee shouted. Chipsqueek sped over and rammed Debling with all his might, knocking it out.

"Whoa! Not bad." Sam said as he recalled Debling. "But, let's see how you handle Grolinguito!" The Leaf Cub Pokemon was released. "Guito!" It cried.

"Let's make this quick, Tackle!"Kaylee ordered and Chipsqueek ran over to Grolinguito. "Vine Whip!" Sam said. Grolinguito whipped the Chipmunk Pokemon and it spun around, getting dizzy.

"Try to use Bite!" Kaylee said but Chipsqueek was too disoriented. " Grolinguito, use Razor Leaf!" Sam shouted. The leaves hit into Chipsqueek, knocking it out!

"You did good Chipsqueek!" Kaylee said as she recalled him. "I'm in a good position though! This will be a cinch with Embarge!" She released the Magma Pokemon from its ball.

"Don't be so sure," Sam said. "Grolinguito, use Vine Whip!" Grolinguito stretched out the vines from its neck towards Embarge. Kaylee remained calm. "Ember!" she commanded.

Grolinguito's vines were immediately burned away. Sam winced. "Grass attacks will be useless, so use Tackle!" Grolinguito lunged and hit Embarge from behind. The Magma Pokemon sprung up, dusty from the impact.

"Embarge, you know the drill, Ember!" Kaylee shouted. Embarge unleashed the attack! "Grolinguito, use your Vines to dodge it!" Grolinguito propped itself high in the air while balancing on its vines!

Lorenzo and Kaylee gasped. "Tackle!" Sam commanded and Grolinguito went soaring down and hit Embarge dead on! Embarge was on the ground with swirls in his eyes. "And that's the end of that!" Sam smirked.

"You were awesome out there Embarge!" Kaylee said, recalling him. Lorenzo was impressed with the battle. "Ooh I can't wait to battle Wes now!"

"You'll do great, I know it!" Kaylee said. "And as for you Sam, good battle!" she extended a hand. "You too!" he said and the two shook hands. (In his case, mechanical hand)

* * *

Lorenzo walked over to where he met Wes. "Hey Wes, you here?" Lorenzo called. Wes strolled over with Leacria. "Let's make this quick." he said as Leacria got into position.

"Uhh, right! Go Aquelip!" Lorenzo said as he unleashed the Water type. Wes shook his head. "What a stupid choice. Leacria's a Grass type." Sam and Kaylee narrowed their eyes.

"I believe in Aquelip and I know we can do it!" Lorenzo shouted. "Use Tackle, full force!" Aquelip ran towards Leacria. Wes remained silent as Aquelip came close.

"Headbutt." he casually said. Leacria put its head down and BAM Aquelip was struck! "Ah man!" Are you okay?" Lorenzo asked. Aquelip hopped back on his feet. "Aque!"

"Okay, use Tail Whip!" Lorenzo shouted. Aquelip whipped out his tail. "Stomp!" Wes commanded. Leacria stomped on Aquelip's tail, preventing him from moving! "Oh no!" Kaylee shouted.

"Now use Mega Drain!" Wes yelled. The two Pokemon began to glow green and Aquelip's energy was absorbed! Aquelip dizzily hit the ground! Lorenzo ran to his side. "Aquelip no!"

"That was boring!" Wes groaned. "Please, give me one more shot! I still have one Pokemon left!" Lorenzo cried. "Fine, but you better give me a challenge!" Wes replied.

"Pikuleck, come on out!" Lorenzo shouted. Wes looked intrigued. "Leacria's my only Pokemon, and he's at a disadvantage. Interesting!" Wes grinned. "Pikuleck, use Gust!" Lorenzo commanded.

Pikuleck began to flap his wings, causing a powerful windstorm! Leacria braced himself. "Leacria, use Headbutt!" Wes yelled. It did as told and bashed into Pikuleck, knocking him back! The Woodpecker Pokemon rose back up.

"Pikuleck, Peck!" Lorenzo called. The bird swooped down and blind-sided Leacria. "Cotton Spore!" Wes shouted and Leacria released fluffy wool at Pikuleck, slowung it down.

"Hang in there!" Lorenzo said. "Try to use Peck again!" Pikuleck flew towards Leacria, and Wes remained calm. "Headbutt!" "Not this time! Fly underneath Leacria!" Lorenzo shouted.

Pikuleck flew under the Cotton Alpaca and pecked his underside! Wes gasped. "What a cheap trick! But now that you're down there, Stomp!" Sam and Kaylee gasped as Pikuleck was stomped hard! There was a cloud of smoke that formed over the battlefield as a result of the impact!

The trio coughed as the smoke began to clear. Pikuleck was nowhere to be found! Lorenzo looked up and Pikuleck was flying above Leacria. "Pikuleck!" he said happily. The others looked stunned.

"What!?" Wes said. "Pikuleck, use Peck!" Lorenzo shouted and Pikuleck flew straight at Leacria. "Dodge and use Cotton Spore!" Wes shouted. The attack was launched and Pikuleck was slowed down even more. "Pikuleck!" Lorenzo cried. "Headbutt!" Wes commanded and Pikuleck was struck hard! It flew into a wall and was knocked out! Wes sighed. "You had some interesting tricks but in the end I win."

Lorenzo ran over to Pikuleck. "I'm so sorry Pikuleck..." Lorenzo said sadly. Kaylee and Sam ran to his side. "It's alright Lorenzo, this was your first battle." Kaylee reassured him. Sam looked over to where Wes was. The boy was standing there, arms crossed.

"Tell me," Wes began. "Are you taking on the Pokemon League?" Lorenzo nodded. "Well in that case, you have to learn how to think on your feet. Dumb luck will only get you far enough!" Kaylee got up. "It was his first battle, quit being so harsh!" The red haired boy started to walk off.

"Whatever. You can ignore my advice, if you don't want to improve. As for me, I have things to accomplish." And with that, the boy and Pokemon were gone. "He has a point, but still, he is pretty jerky." Sam said. Lorenzo got up and silently went to the Pokemon Center to heal his Pokemon once and Sam followed suit. The journey will certainly be rough, and the three learned that lesson today.

* * *

**(A/N: So from this chapter forward I'll keep track of all the new Pokemon encountered. **

**Grolinguito: Grass**

**Embarge: Fire**

**Aquelip: Water**

**Chipsqueek: Normal**

**Pikuleck: Normal/Flying**

**Debling: Water**

**Leacria: Grass**

**That's all folks, stick around more action. And don't forget to review!)**


	4. Lorenzo, Toadette and the Star Faced

**(A/N: Updates are pretty fast at this point. And… another villain appears!? That could mean trouble for the gang. And what's up with Wes and that attitude?)**

* * *

_Chapter 4: Lorenzo, Toadette and the Star Faced Thief!_

After getting their Pokemon healed at the Pokemon Center once more, the three travelers were now well on their way through the next route.

"Don't feel down for losing." Sam said to Lorenzo. "It happens to us all."

"I know but I completely burned out!" the brunet answered. Perhaps the pleasant scenery would cheer him up.

The route that they were on was a flowery path that was brimming with life. There was also a cave towards the western part of the clearing. "Diamond City shouldn't be too far away!" Kaylee said. Lorenzo still seemed rather bummed. "You did the best you could, Lorenzo." Sam once again tried to reassure him. "Your Pokemon know that, and they tried their best." Suddenly a frantic Toad girl ran over to them, interrupting the little pep talk.

"What's the matter?" Sam asked. "My precious Pokemon was stolen!" she yelled. "I was minding my own business and then a guy snatched her from me!" The three looked at each other. This had Koopaling written all over it.

"My name's Toadette by the way." she sniffed. "I'm Lorenzo." "My name's Sam." "Kaylee here!" the trio introduced themselves.

"So what Pokemon was stolen, Toadette?" Sam asked.

"My Sheebop!" Toadette said. Lorenzo looked in the Pokedex and found the bipedal white, sheep-like Pokemon. "Sheebop, the Fleece Pokemon. Sheebop come in male and female varieties that evolve into two different Pokemon. It's fleece is said to bring good fortune."

Kaylee sighed. "I swear if it's the same guy who robbed us, I'm going to lose it!"

"You were robbed too?" Toadette asked as they walked.

"It's kind of embarrassing on our part. Anyway, how did the thief look?" Sam asked. Toadette paused for a moment to think. "He was burly and looked like a Koopa. And he had a star on his face."

"You certainly can't miss that, do you think he went to Diamond City?" Lorenzo asked.

"I'm really not sure, but I want Sheebop back!" she cried.

"Don't worry, we'll find her!" Lorenzo said. "Come on let's split up!" The four went in different directions to find the small Pokemon and the burly thief. Kaylee and Sam were slightly pleased that Lorenzo was out of his little slump, but then again, there was a thief on the loose!

* * *

Kaylee and Embarge were looking near a rocky area. Sam and Grolinguito were searching in the bushes. Toadette checked out the woods. As for Lorenzo, he decided to hit the cave towards the west.

"I wonder if he's here." Lorenzo said to himself. He noticed a silhouette. "That must be him! Stop right there!" he yelled as he tackled the person down.

"What's your problem!" a familiar voice spoke. At his moment, Lorenzo figured out who he just tackled into and sprung up quickly.

"Wes! I didn't know you were here!" Lorenzo said.

"I was trying to get some last minute training in!" Wes sat up, rubbing his head. Leacria ran to his side with a concerned look.

"Well you see, we're looking for a thief!"

"Don't care. Now let me get back to training. If you were smart you'd do the same." Wes retorted.

"But it's our new friend's Pokemon!" Lorenzo said, not understanding the boy's apathetic attitude. "What if you were in her shoes!?"

"I would never be in her shoes. I'm not stupid or weak enough to have my Pokemon stolen!" Wes casually remarked. At this point Lorenzo's fist tightened. "How could you say that!?" Lorenzo yelled as he ran towards Wes at full force.

Wes sighed and restrained Lorenzo by simply putting his finger on his forehand, all while Lorenzo was flailing about like a lunatic. It was kinda comical really. Eventually, the brunet gave up and sat down, defeated. "You done?" Wes asked.

The brunet simply pouted. "Shiiba!" was suddenly heard deeper down the cave! Lorenzo shot up. "Sheebop!" he shouted as he ran ahead. Wes just shrugged.

"Hey Leacria, 5 berries says he's not going to come back."

* * *

Lorenzo ran through the winding path and eventually saw the burly, star-faced Koopaling. He was too busy talking to himself to notice his intrusion.

"I, Morton Koopa Jr., don't ask about the Jr. part, shall be the best soldier in the Koopa Troop!" He proclaimed and even started doing cheesy kung fu moves. "I'm bad, I'm bad, alriight!"

Lorenzo sweatdropped. However, with a turn of his head he noticed Sheebop in her cage.

'I'm in this all alone.' Lorenzo inwardly sighed. 'I'll have to use stealth.' As Morton was blabbing, Lorenzo slowly crept to Sheebop's cage. "Sheebop." he whispered. "It's okay, you'll be back to Toadette soon." Sheebop nodded as Lorenzo tried to discretely open the cage. 'Almost!' Lorenzo thought. However, at that point Morton snapped out of his tangent and saw Lorenzo!

"Darn it!" Lorenzo yelled. "What, the actual heck, do you think YOU'RE DOING!?" Morton yelled.

"Freeing Sheebop from you, creep!" Lorenzo shot back.

Morton growled. "That Pokemon is for the boss!"

"No! This belongs to Toadette! And if you want Sheebop, you'll have to go through me!" Lorenzo shouted. Of course he was scared out of his mind, but he put all that aside to protect Sheebop!

Morton laughed. "Challenge accepted. Go Machoke!" The humanoid Pokemon was released. Lorenzo looked nervous but shook it off. "Go Aquelip!" "Aque!" he cried as he landed. This would be a tough battle.

"Shiba!" Sheebop stepped forward. "You wanna help too?" Lorenzo asked, looking down at the dimunitive creature. She nodded in response. "Alright, Aquelip, Water Gun!" The attack was unleashed. Sheebop also used Swift!

"Detect!" Morton shouted. Machoke began to glow and it nimbly evaded the attacks!

Lorenzo growled. "Aquelip, Tail Whip!" "Aquee!" It whipped Machoke's legs, knocking him off balance. Sheebop simultaneously used Sweet Kiss and confused him!

"Hey you idiot, attack!" Morton yelled, but Machoke was too busy punching himself. "Time to finish this." Lorenzo said. Suddenly, Aquelip's tail began to glow in a light blue color.

"What's that?" Lorenzo said as he looked at his Pokedex. "You learned a new move, Aqua Cutter? Cool!" Sheebop also held out her hand and a five pointed star appeared. "That looks like a new move too!" (A/N: This technique is known as Star Blade)

The two Pokemon nodded to each other before they leapt in the air. Aquelip flicked his tail and a sythe of blue energy flew off and hit Machoke. Likewise, Sheebop ran forward and slashed Machoke with the giant star on her hand, knocking the Superpower Pokemon out. "Noo noo nooo!" Morton began to freak out and ran in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, he happened to run straight into Wes.

Wes rose angrily. "I'm tired of being tackled into! Leacria, Headbutt!" "Leaacriia!" it cried as it knocked Morton straight out of the cave.. It was a home run folks!

"I won't forget thiiiis!" Morton yelled as he flew into the heavens. Ding!

The others noticed a large figure zipping through the air and ran over to the cave. Immediately, they were greeted by a smiling Lorenzo, and he had Sheebop by his side.

"Sheebop!" Toadette said happily and she hugged her. "Awesome job, Lorenzo!" Kaylee said.

"I helped too you know." Wes added. Sam narrowed his eyes. "Yeahh, thanks Wes." he said dully.

"I'm so happy Sheebop is safe and sound! How could I repay you guys?" Toadette said. "You don't have to give us anything!" Lorenzo said, rubbing the back of his head.

"*cough* Rare Candy *cough*" Kaylee said, causing Sam to nudge her. Toadette laughed. "You have the satisfaction of knowing that you saved Sheebop, how's that?"

"Meh, good enough." Sam shrugged. "Well it was nice meeting you Toadette. I hope we meet again!" Lorenzo said. "I'm sure we will Lorenzo! Bye!"

And with that, they parted ways. Soon the heroes would be in Diamond City, home of the first Gym. And with newfound vigor, Lorenzo was confident that things would go for the best!

* * *

**(A/N: New Pokemon of the day**

**Sheebop: Fairy/Normal**

**As always, feedback is incredibly appreciated. I appreciate very single reader of this story, even if there aren't alot. Look forward to the first Gym Battle in the next chapter! Who will it be? (if it's not already apparent))**


	5. Toxic Showdown!

**(A/N: I wanted to hold off a bit for suspense, but this is one of my favorite chapters so far! Anyway, the first Gym Leader will finally appear! Place your bets folks!)**

* * *

_Chapter 5: Toxic Showdown! Sam vs. Wario!_

Lorenzo, Kaylee and Sam finished a tireless stroll through the route, battling trainers, seeing sites, getting a little homesick, and training all the same. Soon, the trio saw the lights of Diamond City! "We're here!" Lorenzo beamed.

It was a large city, quite industrial in nature and filled with quirky citizens; one couldn't help but get a "random" vibe from this city.

"The Gym should be right around the corner." Sam said. They were wasting no time in getting their first badges.

The Gym was a large building, dark purple in color. It doubled as a game production plant. Lorenzo knocked on the door and a teenage girl with auburn hair answered.

"Hi, I'm Lorenzo and I'm here to challenge the Gym!"

"What's up I'm Mona, the Gym Leader's assistant. You see, the Gym Leader went off to town and left me to watch the Gym. Again."

Lorenzo and Sam exchanged looks. "When will he be back?" Sam asked.

"It may be a while, he just got beat by a challenger." Mona explained. "And that person was me!" a voice called over. The three turned around and saw a Koopa holding a Smog Badge.

"Alex here, how's it hangin'?" the Koopa introduced himself. "Wow, that badge is so shiny!" Lorenzo said, admiring it. It resembled a pale purple cloud of smoke. "I wanted to give this Gym a shot, but in all honesty, I'm more of a Pokeathlon guy!" Alex admitted.

"Why not give me that Badge…" Sam mumbled to the side.

That perked Kaylee's interest. "Cool, you're a Pokeathlete too?" she asked. "Yup, I'm revved up to compete in the conference in Moldridge Town." Alex replied. The two began to chat about Pokeathlon-y stuff until a stout man appeared. He had a large presence and reeked of garlic. The man's get up consisted of mainly purple and he wore a biker helmet on his head.

"Wario, what's up?" Mona greeted. "We got some challengers here!" Lorenzo and Sam stepped forward. Wario sized them up. "Two huh? Is this your first Gym battle?"

They nodded. "Yessir."

Wario laughed. "The last guy pulled one over on me but I ain't letting you two win so easily." He continued, "Gyms are the real deal, so you better bring it!"

Kaylee, Alex and Mona looked on. "So, who's up first?" Wario asked. Lorenzo and Sam looked at one another. "I'll go first!" Sam said as he stepped forward. Lorenzo decided to watch.

"Alright, you better get ready to lose!" Wario sneered. Sam, however, remained determined.

* * *

After a short walk, they reached a factory-like battlefield. There was a spectator stand to the side, which quickly filled. Lorenzo, Kaylee and Alex decided to sit amongst a group of Wario's other Gym assistants.

"Since this is an early Gym, the League said I had to accommodate you runts. So it'll be a 2-on-2 battle!" Wario explained. Sam nodded as Mona took the referee position.

'This is a Poison type Gym, so Grolinguito is at a disadvantage.' Sam thought. 'But we can still work around type disadvantages.'

Wario grabbed a Pokeball. "You ready, boy? Go Grimer!" The purple, sludge covered Pokemon emerged from the ball.

"Go Debling!" Sam shouted. "Deb!" It cried as it took its place.

"So this will be a 2-on-2 battle. Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon! Let the battle begin!" Mona said. "Debling use Water Gun!" Sam called wasting no time. "Grimer, Sludge Bomb!" Wario said immediately. The two attacks collided and canceled each other out.

Sam was fazed, but immediate refocused. "Debling, use Tackle!" The Odd Duck Pokemon flew straight at Grimer but bounced off of its sludge covered body! "What?" Sam shouted. Wario laughed. "Physical attacks are useless on us!"

"It's going to be tough to hurt that pile of gunk." Kaylee remarked from the stands. Lorenzo nodded. "It's gross but really tough in battle!" a small pink haired girl beside Kaylee said. "That body is pretty hard to damage." another little girl with orange hair added. "Twins huh? Cool." Lorenzo said.

"Grimer, Pound!" Wario commanded and Debling was struck before Sam could tell it to dodge.

Sam growled. 'It blocks Water attacks with sludge and isn't hurt by physical attacks. But, I still have one trick up my sleeve.' "Alright Debling, use Icy Wind!" Debling unleashed a frigid wind on Grimer.

"I wonder what he's planning." Lorenzo thought out loud. Grimer's body was now slightly frozen, making it susceptible to physical attacks. 'Now that it's been solidified, we can hit it easier!' Sam thought.

Wario looked intense. "Grimer, use Poison Gas!" The Sludge Pokemon let off a cloud of poison that wafted around the arena. "Icy Wind it away!" Sam commanded and the cloud was cleared, damaging Grimer in the process.

"Tackle!" Sam added quickly. Debling flew head first into Grimer, however, Wario was prepared.

"Use Poison Gas while it's close!" Wario shouted. Debling nailed the hit, but got poisoned at the same time. But in the end, Grimer was far too damaged by the attacks and fainted

"Grimer is unable to battle!" Mona said. "Keep it up guys!" Kaylee shouted.

"Alright I gave you that one!" Wario said as he recalled Grimer. "But let's see how you handle my next Pokemon!" Sam got ready.

"Go Clawick!" Wario shouted. A small light purple coyote Pokemon appeared. It had sharp claws and a distinctive tuft of sharp fur sticking up from its head. Kaylee got out her Pokedex.

"Clawick, the Venom Pokemon. These Pokemon secrete poison from their claws as well as the bristled fur on their heads." the electronic voice explained.

"With Debling already poisoned, this won't be a walk in the park." Alex said. "Time to start! Clawick use Poison Claw!" Wario commanded. Clawick's claws glowed purple and it jumped forward.

"Debling dodge it!" Sam shouted but it couldn't move as fast on account of the poison. The attack landed dead on and Debling hit the ground. Everyone in the stands gasped.

Debling was heavily damaged but still revving to go. "Use Water Gun!" Sam yelled. "Quick Attack!" Wario shouted back. Clawick sprung away from the water and tackled Debling, knocking him out. "Debling is unable to battle!" Mona declared.

"That Clawick is tough!" Lorenzo said. "And Grolinguito will be at a disadvantage!" Kaylee added.

Sam recalled Debling. "Good job." he pulled out another. "Go Grolinguito!" The Grass type landed down. "Guito!"

Wario crossed his arms. "This'll be quick, it's a Grass type!" Clawick gave an amused look, as it was ready to end this quick. Sam remained vigilant. "We can work around disadvantages!" he snapped back.

"Whatever you say! Clawick use Poison Claw!" Wario shouted. It jumped in Grolinguito's direction. "Grolinguito dodge it and use Tackle!" Sam ordered. Grolinguito nimbly evaded the attack and charged at Clawick.

Clawick was hit but it managed to land back on its feet. "Clawick, use Bite!" Wario said. Clawick sprinted over to land a hit on Grolinguito! However…

"Grolinguito, turn around!" Sam yelled. Grolinguito turned and had its tail facing Clawick. Thus, Clawick bit down on its leafy tail. "What's he doing?" Alex asked.

"Okay Grolinguito, Razor Leaf!" Sam yelled. Its tail fired leaves right onto Clawick's mouth and face!

"Now that's just playing dirty!" Wario shouted. Clawick growled, now it was getting angry. "Not a bad technique." Alex remarked.

"Finish it off, use Poison Claw again!" Clawick sped over and slashed Groliguito, doing super effective damage. Grolinguito was still hanging on though. "You know the drill, Dig!" Sam ordered and it burrowed underground. Wario grimaced. "A Ground type move huh?"

"Of course I taught it a Ground type move!" Sam explained. "Helps deal with those pesky Fire and Poison type Pokemon." Wario rolled his eyes. "Don't get smug, boy!"

Clawick looked around. Grolinguito could pop up at any moment. Suddenly something popped out of the ground! Wario grinned as the two were face to face. "Flamethrower!" he yelled. Everyone looked shocked!

However, when the attack ended, only charred leaves were left behind. It was a decoy! "Waah!" Wario's jaw dropped as the real Leaf Cub Pokemon sprung behind Clawick and struck him, sending him flying!

Clawick went flying into a wall, and when he hit the ground, he had swirls in his eyes. The others looked stunned. "I call that the leaf decoy technique!" Sam said as he adjusted his beanie.

"Clawick is unable to battle, which means that victory goes to Sam, the challenger!" Mona shouted. Lorenzo, Kaylee and Alex cheered. Wario looked incredibly annoyed.

"Ughh, twice!? I got beat twice!? Fine! Here's the stinkin' Smog Badge!" the man said as he begrudgingly handed it over.

Sam grabbed it and put it in the proper spot on his case. "Good work Grolinguito!" he praised his Pokemon. "Guito!" it responded.

The other Gym assistants looked impressed. "These kids seem to be beating you at your game." Mona said as she nudged Wario. "Ugh, whatever!" he said. " Just know that you won't get one over me!" Wario pointed at Lorenzo.

Lorenzo gulped slightly. Will he be able to match his friend's performance? Only time will tell.

* * *

**(A/N: New Pokemon:**

**Clawick: Poison/ Dark**

**I just love the WarioWare series! Also, tell me how the story's going please!)**


	6. The Desolation of Smog!

**(A/N: I'm not the best at titles. You'll soon see…)**

* * *

_Chapter 6: The Desolation of Smog!_

The gang decided to head to a nearby café, since Wario needed time to prepare for the next challenger, AKA Lorenzo.

"I'm pretty excited!" Lorenzo said as he toyed with a drinking straw. A first Gym battle is both a thrilling and a nerve racking experience.

"Yeah but you gotta be careful out there Lorenzo." Kaylee said as she ate a sandwich.

Sam nodded in agreement. "He might change up his lineup. I'm sure he wants to keep us on our toes."

At that moment, a couple of Wario's Gym assistants walked over: a man with a large afro, by the name of Jimmy T, a stoic black-haired girl named Ashley and a young boy with a helmet named 9-Volt.

"Yo! We came from the Gym to check up on you. Do you feel ready little man?" Jimmy asked. "Wario's gonna put up a good fight since he doesn't wanna lose 3 times!" 9 Volt added. Ashley remained quiet.

"I've been training hard, I think we do it!" Lorenzo replied. Jimmy grinned. "Hop on over to the Gym when you're ready. Give it your best shot dude!" And with that, the three assistants walked off.

"Well I'm done eating let's go!" Lorenzo declared as he practically dragged the other two from their plates.

Meanwhile, in the distance, a figure was watching them intently.

"I wonder where Wes is." Kaylee randomly brought up. "Who knows? Who cares?" Sam responded.

* * *

They knocked on the door to the Gym once more. "Hello, Wario? I'm ready to battle!" Lorenzo called over. "Yeah, yeah. Come in." Wario's gruff voice replied.

They walked inside the Gym and saw Wario, Mona and Jimmy T. "What's up Lorenzo?" Mona greeted. "You feel pumped?" Jimmy asked. The boy nodded, "You bet!"

"Well I'm not running out of gas this time!" Wario shouted as he approached Lorenzo. "You better be ready to bring it!" Mona rolled her eyes. "Settle down Wario."

Kaylee chuckled at the two. "Whatever. Now let's hit the battlefield!" Wario said. They returned to the battlefield that Sam and Wario had previously fought in. Mona took the role of the referee just like last time.

"Once again this will be a 2-on-2 battle. Only the challenger may substitute Pokemon! Let the battle begin!" Mona shouted.

"Go Koffing!" Wario called. The spherical Pokemon floated over to the field. "Go Pikuleck!" Lorenzo shouted and the Woodpecker Pokemon was released.

Through a window, the figure could be seen again. "Hmm, Gym Leader Pokemon? Jackpot!" they sneered. Kaylee thought she saw something but immediately refocused her attention on the battle.

"Koffing, Gyro Ball!" Wario commanded. Koffing began to spin and launched itself at Pikuleck.

"Pikuleck, fly above it and use Peck!" Pikuleck soared to the ceiling before it dove down and struck Koffing. Koffing shook it off and glared.

"Koffing, use Sludge Bomb on its wings!" Wario yelled.

Twin blobs of sludge hit Pikuleck's wings, making it hard to fly. Lorenzo panicked inwardly. "Try flapping your wings to get it off!" Lorenzo yelled, but it did nothing.

"Wahaha, it's no use! Now use Gyro Ball!" Wario commanded and Koffing tackled Pikuleck hard!

'He can hardly fly.' Lorenzo thought. 'What do I do?' Sam shook his head. "This isn't looking good." Kaylee simply kept her eyes on the field.

"Pikuleck, give it all you got! Use Quick Attack!" Lorenzo shouted. Pikuleck mustered up the strength it had and flew towards Koffing. "Gyro Ball!" Wario commanded and the two slammed into each other! However, Pikuleck was unable to overpower the foe and was knocked out! Yet, Koffing did manage to get slightly damaged.

"You did your best Pikuleck. Have a good rest." Lorenzo said as he recalled it. 'Ughh, I'm losing already. What chance do I have now?' he thought to himself.

"Oh man, Aquelip has to beat both of them now!" Kaylee said.

"It'll be tough." The pink haired little girl from earlier said. "By the way I'm Kat and this is Ana!" Kaylee and Sam gave the two a smile and then turned back to the field. "Okay, Aquelip let's go!" Lorenzo called out.

"Aque!" it called out. "Okay Koffing, Smokescreen!" Wario ordered. A thick black smoke filled the area. Aquelip was looking around. "Stay calm!" Lorenzo said. 'The moment we sense it's near, we're using Aqua Cutter." he thought. Both Aquelip and Lorenzo focused on the cloud of smoke. Suddenly, Koffing's silhouette was seen!

"Aqua Cutter, quick!" Lorenzo commanded.

Aquelip launched the attack at Koffing and the Poison type was sent flying! "Direct hit!" Kaylee said happily. "That was just a fluke, Koffing use Assurance!" Wario ordered. Koffing charged at Aquelip with a rather dark grin. "That's not good," Sam said. "Assurance does the double damage if the user was hurt during the same turn."

"Tail Whip!" Lorenzo commanded. Aquelip slapped Koffing right before the attack connected and it went spinning! "Koffing no!" Wario shouted. "Aqua Cutter!" Lorenzo ordered and Aquelip bombarded Koffing with the attack, knocking it out!

"Koffing is unable to battle!" Mona shouted. "Great job Aquelip!" Lorenzo shouted. Aquelip was panting, slightly exhausted from the battle. 'Maybe I can do this after all.' he thought.

"Not bad, boy!" Wario said as he returned Koffing. "But can you handle Clawick?" Lorenzo remained confident on the outside, but pretty nervous on the inside. 'Relax, Lorenzo.' he told himself.

"Stay strong Aquelip!" Lorenzo said. "Aque!" Wario grinned and grabbed a Pokeball. "Clawick, come on out!" The Venom Pokemon leapt to the battlefield. "Claaww!"

"Let's hope things go as well for him as they did for you Sam." Kaylee said.

"Let's start things off with Quick Attack!" Wario commanded. Clawick ran over to the Trident Pokemon.

"Aquelip use Water Gun!" Aquelip shot a jet of water at Clawick but it dodged it and nailed the hit. "Now, Poison Claw!" Wario yelled and Clawick prepared to attack! "Roll over!" Lorenzo shouted.

Aquelip rolled over narrowly, but his tail was hit by the attack, poisoning him. "Great." Sam said sarcastically.

"Aquelip, Tackle!" Lorenzo ordered and Aquelip threw itself towards Clawick but once again Clawick darted away.

'It's too fast!' Lorenzo groaned. "Bite!" Wario yelled and Clawick began to run over. At this point, Lorenzo took notice of the metallic factory-like floor of the battlefield.

"Aquelip, use Water Gun on the floor!"

Aquelip did as told, spraying the floor and causing Clawick to slip and fall! Aquelip grinned, but then winced; the poison was still having an effect. Wario simply growled in frustration.

"Lorenzo better hurry because that poison can cause some serious problems the longer the fight lasts." Sam said solemnly.

"Clawick get up!" Wario yelled but the Venom Pokémon kept slipping. "Aqua Cutter!" Lorenzo shouted and Aquelip's tail glowed, launching the aquatic sythe of energy on Clawick. Yet, Clawick still had some energy left. "You think you could use tricks like that!? Then use our own tricks!" Wario's voice boomed.

"Double Team!" he ordered and several Clawicks surrounded Aquelip! Lorenzo's head shot around at the copies of them, as did Aquelip's. "Stay calm and spin while using Tail Whip!" he finally said and Aquelip did as told, whipping his tail rapidly at the duplicates, all while getting weakened by the poison.

"Wario's trying to drag out the battle so the poison can wear out Aquelip!" Kaylee observed.

Little did Aquelip know that the real Clawick was right behind him, and ready to lunge! "Turn around and use Tackle! Quick!" Lorenzo cried.

The moment seemed to go by in slow motion. As Clawick was going to strike, Aquelip leapt headfirst and rammed the Venom Pokémon with all its might, causing it to hit the floor. Kaylee and Sam both gasped. Clawick was defeated!

"WHAA!?" Wario was stunned.

"Clawick is unable to battle which means that the winner is Lorenzo the challenger!" Mona shouted. "We won! We won!" Lorenzo cheered as he jumped in the air. Sam and Kaylee ran down to the field and congratulated him as Wario grumbled about losing.

Mona playfully elbowed him in the side. "Cheer up! The job of a Gym Leader is to guide young trainers, not win all the time." she said. "Now be a big boy and give him the badge."

Wario sighed before reaching in his pocket. "Here you go kid, the Smog Badge, you earned it. But don't get a big head about it!" Wario said. Lorenzo reached for the badge but suddenly a mechanical hand came and grabbed Clawick and Aquelip! "For Pete's sake, again!?" Kaylee cried.

The thief this time was a female Koopaling with a big pink bow on her head with white spots. "Pleasure doing business with ya!" she said before she jumped away. "Get back here!" Wario and Lorenzo yelled.

The Koopaling, Wendy, ran down the streets before running into one of Wario's Gym assistants, Ashley! "What are you doing?" Ashley asked coldly. "Trying to get past you!" Wendy shot back before she darted away.

"Oh no you don't! Mismagius, go!" Ashlley called and the witch-like ghost emerged. "Use Mean Look!" Mismagius glared and caused Wendy to stop in her tracks! "Why you!" Wendy whined.

At this point the others ran over. "I can't stand thieves!" Kaylee yelled. "Embarge, use Ember right now!" "Grolinguito, Razor Leaf!" Sam joined in. "Mismagius, Shadow Ball!" Ashley finished and the three attacks hit the Koopaling causing her to go flying!

"Auggh! Why was my defeat so fast!? You'll regret thiiis!" Wendy shouted as she flew away. Ding!

"That was pointless..." Sam remarked.

The Pokemon were now back to their rightful owners. Wario turned to Lorenzo. "NOW, you can have your badge!" Lorenzo took it and held it proudly. "I got the Smog Badge!" he beamed. "Aque!" Aquelip suddenly slid in beside him.

"Why does that seem oddly familiar?" Kaylee thought out loud.

"Now the next Gym is in Jadevine Town, so you better get ready, cuz you're gonna be facing off against my brother!" Wario warned. "That's true, Wario's family is full of gifted trainers!" Mona noted. "We'll do our best!" Lorenzo and Sam said in unison.

"Good now get out of my sight!" Another nudge from Mona. "I mean, take care!" he grumbled.

The youngsters bid farewell and began to walk to the next town. The Pokeathlon was coming up and soon it would be Kaylee's time to shine!

* * *

**(A/N: ****On a side note, my Pokemon originate from an unnamed fan game that I've been thinking up. Names are tough! Anyways, stick around for Kaylee's Pokeathlon debut. Catch you later!)**


	7. Pre Tourney Turmoil! Merlee Appears!

**(A/N: A new character appears!)**

* * *

_Chapter 7: Pre-Tourney Turmoil! Merlee Appears!_

The trio were off of the streets of Diamond City and well into the next route. While Kaylee was stoked about her first Pokeathlon, Lorenzo was busy admiring his new badge.

"You've been staring at that thing like you expect it to start talking to you." Sam said and Lorenzo snapped out of it.

"I'm just happy that I got it!" he chuckled. "I mean, this is my first badge, it's like every trainer's first milestone!" "That's true and all, but just don't get too riled up." Sam said.

Kaylee began to walk in a different direction. "I'm going to fetch us some water." she said.

"Alright." the boys replied and they sat on a rock to wait for her.

* * *

Meanwhile, a pink haired girl was strolling down the same route. She wore a curly side ponytail and was accompanied by an Embarge.

"Journeying takes soo much walking. It's killer on my shoes," she sighed. "Come on Embarge, let's take a break by the lake."

"Embarge!" it said in reply. Little did she know that Kaylee was already there. And little did she know that Kaylee decided to throw in a quick practice regime right then and there.

"That's it! Run like a champion!" Kaylee shouted in a coach like way. Her Pokemon needed a good warm up for the tournament. "Now Embarge, show me a nice Break Break!" Kaylee said.

The Magma Pokemon jumped in the air and was ready to slam a rock. Unfortunately, his aim slipped and he sailed into the unfortunate pink haired girl that was just strolling over! "UH-OH!" Kaylee shouted.

The girl was on the ground with swirls in her eyes. It was quiet for a bit. 'We'll just walk away like nothing happened...' Kaylee thought.

"YOU DID THIS!?" the girl finally sprung up in comedic rage. "We're sorry, we're sorry, we're sorry!" Kaylee bowed.

"Hitting an innocent girl in the woods!? What has our world come to!?" she shouted. Kaylee certainly wasn't going to hear the end of this.

"Embarge accidentally missed while it was trying to use Brick Break." Kaylee explained.

"Hmmp! Alright! If it was an accident I'll forgive you. You're lucky that I'm such a forgiving person." the pink haired girl said. "Anyways, my Embarge is an expert on Brick Break. Maybe yours can learn from mine."

Kaylee brightened up. "That would be awesome! The name's Kaylee by the way!" the young Koopa introduced herself.

"I'm Merlee. And trust me, by teaching you this I'm most likely preventing a TON of Brick Break related injuries in the future."

And so, the two practiced until Kaylee's Embarge had it down pact. The Koopa girl had been gone for so long that her traveling companions decided to come to the lake to find her.

"You were gone for AWHILE!" Lorenzo said.

Sam noticed Merlee. "Who might this be?" he asked. "Merlee. How's it going?" she greeted.

"Hey! I'm Lorenzo!" "And I'm Sam, we're Kaylee's traveling partners."

"Oh so these are your friends." Merlee said. "You see, her Embarge almost killed me so I did mankind a huge favor and taught it how to properly attack."

Kaylee rolled her eyes. "It wasn't THAT hard Merlee!

"Ah I see," Sam nodded. "So are you a trainer?" The girl paused. "Not really. In all honesty, I haven't decided what I wanna be yet."

"You haven't?" Lorenzo asked. She shook her head. "All I've done is travel around with Embarge and battle random Pokemon. Gym badges seem cool and all, but so do Pokeathlons. But then again, you DO need three Pokemon to compete and I'm not sure if it's really my thing." Merlee finished.

Kaylee instantly shot up. "I forgot you needed three Pokemon! I gotta catch another one and train it before the tournament!" she cried.

"I can't believe you forgot." Sam remarked.

"Well instead of freaking out, we gotta find you another Pokemon!" Lorenzo said. Merlee nodded. "Just catch whatever catches your fancy."

* * *

Kaylee began to look around the route. "Hopefully I can find something!"

There were a couple Pokemon in the surrounding area. A few Chipsqueek, a Pikuleck and a Clawick by the lake. Suddenly, a male Sheebop appeared out of a bush and this caught Kaylee's eye.

"Hey that's a Sheebop, and it's a male one this time." Lorenzo said. Its horns had a more ram-like shape and its wool gave the illusion of shorts, kind of like a Lucario. This was an obvious contrast to the skirt-like wool of a female Sheebop.

"I get good vibes from this one!" Kaylee smiled. "Chipsqueek, come on out!" "Chipsqueek!" it cried.

Sheebop noticed them and got into a battle position.

"Okay Chipsqueek, Tackle!" she shouted and Chipsqueek ran over to Sheebop. But, Sheebop jumped and used Headbutt, causing Chipsqueek to go flying.

"Chipsqueek, Dig!" Kaylee commanded.

Chipsqueek landed back on the ground and burrowed into the earth. However, the moment it popped out, Sheebop used Quick Attack, knocking Chipsqueek out!

"It's pretty strong!" Lorenzo muttered.

"Playing tough huh? That only makes me want to catch you more!" Kaylee shouted as she returned Chipsqueek. "Embarge, show 'em what you got!" Embarge leapt down and stared Sheebop down.

Sheebop charged at the Fire type! "Embarge, Scratch!" Kaylee shouted and Embarge ran with his claws extended. The two sped by each other, not even seeming to touch, until Sheebop winced. "Now use Brick Break!"

Embarge leapt in the air, his hand glowing white, and slammed the Fleece Pokemon with the attack! "Pokeball go!" Kaylee shouted as she threw the ball and Sheebop was swept inside. Shake... shake... shake...

BAM! Sheebop broke free! Kaylee growled; it certainly was putting up a fight. Sheebop gathered its strength and used Play Rough on Embarge. However, Fairy type moves aren't very effective on Fire types.

"Brick Break again!" Kaylee commanded.

Embarge darted off and swung its arm down on the Fleece Pokemon. "You're mine!" Kaylee said as she grabbed a Pokeball. "Go!"

Sheebop was hit and got swept inside once more. Shake... shake... shake... CLICK! Sheebop was captured! "Score!" Kaylee cheered as she jumped up and down. Embarge gave a thumbs up.

"Congrats Kaylee." Merlee said as she walked over. "I'm sure you owe me a thank for all that I helped you with." Her Embarge grinned.

"You're right Merlee, how could I pay you back?" Merlee thought for a moment.

"How about you bring me along with you to see you compete!?"

"Not a problem with me." Sam said. Lorenzo nodded. "The more the merrier!" Merlee giggled. "Thanks a bunch guys!" The two Embarge ran circles around their trainers in happiness.

"Maybe I can find out what I want to do with myself if I travel with you guys for a bit." Merlee said as they walked into the sunset. "I'm sure you'll find out!" Lorenzo answered. Moldridge Town was only a short while away and it's certain that Kaylee will do a lot of preparation for the first Pokeathlon.

* * *

**(A/N: It's definitely an interesting process to write the same story in two different ways. The other edition should be able to catch up within the upcoming weeks. Anyways, be sure to fave and review! Hasta Luego!)**


	8. Heart Pumping Debut!

**(A/N: It's now Kaylee's time to shine… hopefully.)**

* * *

_Chapter 8: Heart Pumping Debut! The Moldridge Tourney!_

The trio, or should we say quartet, was getting ever so close to Moldridge Town. The previous day and a half, Kaylee was doing a lot of training with Embarge, Chipsqueek and her new partner Sheebop.

"I can't wait to compete!" Kaylee said. "You two had your moment to shine but now it's my turn!" she spoke in reference to the boys.

"Well you better hope the preparation payed off." her Goomba companion said.

Lorenzo nodded. "Alex will be there and I'm sure he'll be tough."

"You're right about that, which is why I'll have to be even tougher!" she retorted. "

* * *

After crossing a short clearing, the gang saw a small town with a sports dome. Here is Moldridge Town.

"Sweet! Here we are!" Merlee said happily.

"First thing's first, I gotta register!" Kaylee said as they headed to the dome. Pokeathlons are large scale events in the Mushroom Kingdom, and there are many competitors. The winner receives a medal, and those who attain 4 medals can compete in the Pokeolympics, a large conference like a Grand Festival.

"All done, you're fully registered." a young woman said to Kaylee.

"Thank you miss!" she said before she rejoined the others. At that moment, they saw Alex entering.

"Alex! Good to see ya!" Kaylee greeted. "Hey, and it looks like you have a new friend." Alex observed.

Merlee waved. "The lovely maidaen standing before you is Merlee! And this is my partner Embarge!" The others couldn't help but sweatdrop at her overdramatic introduction.

"Nice to meet you Merlee, and how are you two dudes doing?" Alex said as he turned to Lorenzo and Sam.

"Let this speak for itself!" Lorenzo smiled as he proudly held his shiny new Smog Badge. "Wow! Not bad Lorenzo!"

Kaylee released Sheebop from its ball. "Me and my new Sheebop are going to blow away the competition!"

"I wouldn't be too sure about, that!" Alex grinned. "Come on out you guys!"

Three Pokémon were released: A Treeko, a Debling and a third one that she had never seen. It was small, pale yellow hare-like Pokemon with dark brown cheek pouches and lightning bolt shaped ears. "What's that?" Merlee said as she grabbed her Pokedex.

"Usachi, the Static Rabbit Pokemon. They have huge amounts of static energy within their bodies and are capable of releasing through their cheek pouches as well as their ears. They are also known to attack with electrified punches"

"It's cool, I admit. But you are going down!" Kaylee seemed to annunciate each word with fire in her eyes.

"Not before you!" Alex shot back with fire in his eyes as well. The others sweatdropped at the two until a voice came over an intercom.

"Attention Pokeathletes, make your way to the designated areas because the tourney is on its way!" Kaylee looked back at the others.

"That's our cue. See you guys!" "Good luck out there!" Lorenzo shouted and the two gave one last thumbs up before they walked off.

So here's how it works. There are three rounds and each round involves a different challenge. Contestants are scored based on their performance, and the one with the most points wins! In the instance of a tie, the two duke it out in a final challenge to determine the winner.

"Welcome to the Moldridge Town Pokeathlon!" a woman in sports attire announced. "I'm your host Pauline! And here we have a horde of hopefuls competing for a chance at the coveted Medal!"

All the Pokeathletes were lined up. "Without further ado, it's time for Round 1! And what event will it be?" Pauline asked. A screen shuffled through random events until it landed on one...

"The Ring Drop!" Pauline declared. Merlee gulped "It's like PokeSumo Wrestling!"

"There are 20 competitors, therefore, it will be split into 5 groups of 4 athletes!" Pauline explained. "Therefore there will be 5 rounds in which 4 Pokeathletes duke it out with eachother."

An arena rose up and the groups were soon made. Both Alex and Kaylee were in Group 1.

"What are the odds." Sam nodded. "Kaylee and Alex will be in the same group."

"Group 1 will be the first Pokeathletes to scuffle! Give it your best shot!" Pauline declared.

Alex, Kaylee and 2 others, a Toad girl and a human boy, took their places outside the ring. A referee spoke. "Push your opponents out of the ring but don't get thrown out yourselves! On my mark, you may release your first Pokemon! Ready...set...GO!"

"Go Embarge!" Kaylee called. "Go Treecko!" Alex shouted. "Go Deerling!" the Toad Girl added. "Go Lunatyr!" the boy finished. "Another new one!" Lorenzo said. It was a blue-gray bipedal goat with black cresent shaped horns.

"Lunatyr, the Eclipse Pokémon. They gather moonlight in their horns and harness it for energy. They tend to be common during eclipses."

The four Pokemon all faced each other. "Charge!" Kaylee shouted and Embarge ran towards Treecko. but the Grass Type jumped out of the way.

But, immediately, Treecko was tackled Deerling! "That's right, Deerling!" The Toad Girl cheered. "Lunatyr, Shade Kick!" the boy ordered and Lunatyr's foot got cloaked in a dark aura. It kicked Deerling out!

"Gosh this is hectic!" Merlee said as she watched.

Embarge ran over to Treecko once more. "Brick Break!" Kaylee commanded and it hit Treecko, sending him flying into Lunatyr, effectively getting a two-for-one shot as the two Pokemon were eliminated.

"Good job Kaylee!" Lorenzo chimed. The other competitors released their next Pokemon: Alex sending out Usachi, the Toad Girl sending out Roselia and the boy sending out Mudkip.

"Don't get cocky!" Alex said. "Use Quick Attack!" Usachi sped around Embarge, confusing him temporarily before it nailed the hit. As Embarge stumbled, Roselia and Mudkip both double teamed him and tackled him out.

Now it was Chipsqueek's turn. Shortly after, Mudkip managed to get tossed out and soon Roselia managed to outmaneuver Usachi.

Soon Alex sent out Debling and the boy sent out Pikachu. "Let's hope Chipsqueek can hang in there." Sam said. At this point nearly all the Pokemon ganged up on Chipsqueek and tossed it out. "You just had to say it." Merlee deadpanned.

"Sheebop, do this for me!" Kaylee shouted as she threw the ball. Of course, it did as told and knocked Roselia out of the ring. Debling and Pikachu were trying to push past each otherbut Debling finally managed to push out Pikachu and the Toad Girl released her final Pokemon, a Vileplume.

"Hit Debling from behind!" Kaylee yelled. "Not so fast!" Alex shot back.

Debling jumped away and Sheebop was unable to control itself as it neared the edge. Unluckily for him, Vileplume and Debling worked together to pushed it off. "DING!" a bell chimed. "Time is up!" Pauline declared.

The round had come to a close and the points were being added up. Kaylee and Alex were certainly ahead of the other two point-wise, but Alex scored a little higher than her. "What a riveting start!" Pauline announced. "Now it's on to the next rounds."

'Now we really have to step up our game!' Kaylee thought. With a slight break until the next four rounds ended, Kaylee needed to find a way to overtake her rival in the next Event…

* * *

**(New Pokemon introduced:**

**Usachi: Electric/Fighting**

**Lunatyr: Dark**

**Man that was rough. I hope you enjoyed this scattered attempt at writing a very action based scene. And I know some may be sick of Electric rodents, but I just like Usachi too much, even if hares are not technically rodents. There's still another Electric rodent that will be introduced though. Anyway, stick around for the continuation of the tourney, and as always drop a fave and review! See ya!)**


	9. Go for the Gold!

**(A/N: The exiting conclusion!)**

* * *

_Chapter 9: Go For the Gold! Tournament Finale!_

The Moldridge Pokeathlon Tourney had raged on for four more rounds of Ring Drop until the event had ended. Soon the second event would begin. "What event will it be this time?" Pauline asked enthusiastically as the screen shuffled through events.

Lorenzo, Sam and Merlee looked on intently. Finally, the screen stopped scrolling. The next event will be the Hurdle Dash! Kaylee looked exited. 'We have this in the bag!' she thought.

"Alright athletes, get ready!" Pauline said. . Soon the stage transformed into a giant track filled with hurdles. Merlee gasped. "Whoa, that was…quick!"

All of the Pokeathletes were lined up. "Chipsqueek is fast, so it should have a slight edge in the race." Sam noted. Lorenzo kept his eyes on the field. "We practiced hard for this, I know you can do it!" Kaylee gave one last pep talk before the race began.

A Lakitu referee took his position on the field.

"Let's have a clean race folks. On my mark, get set… GO!"

And they're off! Everyone was neck and neck, skillfully dodging the hurdles.

As predicted, Chipsqueek managed to get the furthest. However, Usachi and a Ponyta were gaining on it.

"Just focus on the hurdles!" Kaylee shouted.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the pack, Embarge lost his footing stumbled over a hurdle. Lorenzo and Merlee gasped. However, the Fire type managed to flip and land on his feet, overtaking several others. Treecko was quite distracted by this and tripped over a hurdle.

"Shoot!" Alex cried.

Chipsqueek ran as fast as its little legs could take it. However, the opposing Ponyta showed no restraint as it gracefully leaped. Its trainer laughed. "Nothing compares to my Ponyta!"

Kaylee's voice rose above the others. "Don't let it beat you!" Taking her cue, the three Pokemon began to bolt faster and faster ahead. The finish line was close... only one more hurdle.

But suddenly, Sheebop tripped over a hurdle was overtaken! In spite of this setback, all three of Kaylee's Pokemon were the top five finishers: Chipsqueek, Embarge, Ponyta, Usachi and Sheebop, in that order.

"Now let's add up the points of the performance!" Pauline declared.

The points were slowly added up. "Cross your fingers…" Merlee said.

Fortunately, Kaylee had taken the lead! "Yes yes yes!" the Koopa girl cheered as she embraced her partners "Don't think you've won yet!" Alex said to her.

"Only one Event remains!" Pauline said. "Who will claim victory!? Let us take a break and allow our athletes to rest!" And with that the athletes went over to a lounge area to relax for a bit.

* * *

Kaylee buried herself in a seat. "Phew! I didn't even run and I'm exhausted!" She was quickly joined by the others.

"Ooh Kaylee you did so well out there!" Merlee said. Lorenzo nodded. "If you maintain your lead in the next event, the Medal's all yours!"

Kaylee smiled. "That's why I'm pushing my Pokemon to 110%!"

Sam looked concerned. "It's great to encourage them and all, but make sure not to overdo it. You don't want them to burn out when you need them most."

Kaylee nodded. "Sam, don't worry, I know what I'm doing." He shrugged. "If you say so."

Alex walked over to them. "Yo, Kaylee, break's over." "Well that was fast!" Merlee crossed her arms.

"It's cool, I'll be one step closer to my Medal!" Kaylee declared. "You wish!" Alex added.

* * *

"Alright! Are you all excited for the final event!?" Pauline asked and was immediately met by a roaring response.

"Start the shuffle!" Pauline announced as the screen began to shuffle. Everyone looked on as it stopped.

"Our final event shall be the Pennant Capture!" All of the Pokeathletes were excited. "We need to keep our lead guys. Remember, 110%!" Kaylee said to her Pokemon. Alex gave a similar pep talk.

"It's the final stretch; give it your all or nothing!" The stage transformed for the final time as all of the competitors took their places. Now the stage resembled a beach, complete with sandcastles and parasols.

A Shy Guy Referee gave an explanation of the rules before he gave one final flag wave. "GO!"

All of the Pokemon burst into the playing field, feet padding furiously into the ground. "Don't be afraid to ram the opponents!" Kaylee shouted. Lorenzo, Sam and Merlee watched on; there was certainly a lot of crashing and bashing!

Sheebop tackled a Teddiursa and took a pennant! However, the Lunatyr from before blindsided him and snatched it. Elsewhere, Chipsqueek was trying to lay low and grab pennants while no one was near.

"This event requires a lot of technique and precision." Merlee noted. "Not to forget stealth." Sam finished. Lorenzo nodded until he noticed a familiar face in the audience. 'Wes?' he thought.

It was rather chaotic out there. The pennants that the Pokemon secured were often stolen in a blink of an eye. Alex's Treecko had several pennants and strategically climbed up a parasol so nobody would get him.

"Get him down!" Kaylee ordered. Sheebop jumped but the nimble Grass-type climbed higher. Alex grinned. 'Just what I wanted!' he thought. As her Pokemon were preoccupied trying to get Treecko down they were open for a sneak attack!

"Look out!" Merlee called. Kaylee gasped as Usachi and Debling popped out and rammed her Pokemon, stealing their pennants! "Hey!" Kaylee cried.

The clock was beginning to wind down. "Hurry! We still have time!" Kaylee yelled. But her Pokemon were reaching their breaking point. She was shouting out numerous commands but soon her Pokemon were becoming overwhelmed.

"5...4...3...2...1 TIME IS UP!" the referee called. Everyone became silent. Pauline took her place on stage. "The points will be added up shortly and we will have our winner!"

Kaylee, as well as the other Pokeathletes looked at the screen. Time seemed to stand still as the final points were being added. Kaylee had the lead from the previous round, but would this performance be enough? Suddenly, the screen flashed, a verdict had been reached! The winner of the Moldridge Town Pokeathlon was...

"Alex! Congratulations!" Pauline beamed. Kaylee sighed in defeat and her friends looked crestfallen. She was only a couple points behind.

"It's a shame she didn't win, but second place is still amazing." Merlee said. Sam sighed. "It looks like she panicked at the end though."

Kaylee looked down at her Pokemon, who looked a little bummed at the result. "I know you did your best and I'm proud." She sighed. "But it still stinks to lose!" Meanwhile, Alex was handed the Moldridge Tourney Medal. "Yeah!" he shouted as the crowd cheered.

And so the tourney came to an end all of the competitors lined up. "Let's give a round of applause to each and every one of our competitors!" Pauline said. The audience began to clap, and amidst the applause, Lorenzo noticed Wes walk out of the dome. He simply shook his head at this and joined Sam and Merlee as they cheered on Kaylee.

"You did good Alex, but I'm not losing next time!" Kaylee said. Alex nodded in response. "You better keep that promise! Rivalries aren't fun if you always win!"

And with that the two parted ways for now. "See ya around!" she called.

"Take it easy!" he said. "I'm sorry you lost, Kaylee." Lorenzo said as he and the others came over to her. "It's alright. I DID freak out a bit back there, but I learned from this loss." Sam and Merlee nodded. "That's the most important part of all." Sam said.

"I say we hit the spa!" Merlee suggested as her Embarge stretched. "Nah, I'm not really into the whole pampering thing!" Kaylee retorted and Merlee sighed. "Fiiine." she said.

They left the stadium and embraced the sunset ahead of them. "Jadevine Town is next, but let's take it easy for a bit!" Lorenzo said.

"But before we go, a certain someone had something they wanted to accomplish." Sam said. Merlee blinked innocently. "Who me?"

"Yeah, you said you only wanted to tag along for the tournament, and from there you'd decide your next move."

She paused for a moment before she spoke. "Ugh, that was so short, I still don't have a feel for what I wanna do!" They looked at her. "Can I please just stay for one more town?"

They looked at each other before nodding. "Of course, Merlee. You could stay with us as long as you like!" Lorenzo said. She jumped up.

"Yay! I know I'll find my path one day, but staying with you just makes it so much clearer."

They all gave a smile. "From here on out, we're going at our dreams with full vigor!" Lorenzo said determinedly. "You know it!" Kaylee chimed.

And so, the four youngsters began their stroll. Jadevine Town here they come!

* * *

Meanwhile, Wes was quite a bit away from the dome, in a deeply forested area. He stood in front of a shadowy figure.

"So you're saying that you want to help us out?" the figure asked.

"Correct. I was kind of a jerk to one of your allies earlier, but I feel that this is what's best for me." Wes answered.

The figure laughed. "Perfect! The boss will be so thrilled! But just so we know that you're serious, we'll give you a mission to prove your loyalty." Wes nodded. The figure whispered and the red head nodded once again.

"Got it?" the figure asked. "Got it." Wes echoed. What could be going on between these two? We'll have to find out later….

* * *

**(A/N: So there you have it. Pokeathlons are a bit tough to write and I hope I didn't royally screw up. Stick around for the next chapter, where the first Elite Four Member is revealed! And as always, R&R)**


	10. A Meet with an Elite!

**(A/N: Back so soon? Yep. Anyway, an Elite Four Member makes an appearance. Who will it be!?)**

* * *

_Chapter 10: A Meet with an Elite!_

Lorenzo, Kaylee, Sam and Merlee were walking through the route that connected Moldridge Town and Jadevine Town. Though it was disappointing that Kaylee lost the tournament, the beautiful environment did wonders in raising everyone's spirits.

"This route actually contains a forest known as Lumni Woods." Merlee said as she looked at her map. "And it supposedly glows!"

"Glows? How?" Lorenzo asked. "Beats me, but it looks great!" Kaylee said.

It was evening time, and the woods were already letting off a beautiful shine. As they entered the woods, Lorenzo noticed a small glow worm Pokemon in a tree. It was a pinkish-maroon colored Pokemon and it had two bulb-like protrusions on top of its head. "Hey, who's that Pokemon?"

"Wormite, the Glow Worm Pokemon. They are known to produce powerful lights from their bodies that throw off enemies. At night, they illuminate forests."

"I guess so many Wormite gathered here that these woods eventually came to be known as Lumni Woods." Sam noted. Lorenzo held out a Pokeball. "I'm catching it! I do need a third member of my time!"

The Wormite looked at the newcomers and got itself ready to fight. "Go Pikuleck!" Lorenzo called and the Woodpecker Pokemon emerged from the ball. "Pikuleck!" it cried.

"Use Gust!" Lorenzo commanded and a powerful windstorm was summoned.

Wormite tried to hold on but it was eventually blown away… too far to be precise. "Oh no!" Lorenzo shouted as he ran after it. The others followed behind him.

Eventually, he found Wormite, as well as a new face. It was a tall woman with light blonde hair and a pale blue outfit. "Would this happen to be your Pokemon?" she spoke, her voice echoing in the forest. At that point, it registered to the others who this woman was.

"You're Rosalina of the Elite Four!" Sam said in awe. She nodded. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" Lorenzo was amazed. "What are you doing in these parts?" he asked.

"It's a beautiful forest and I like to come here to clear my mind." she said. "My Psychic types can get a little unnerved since there are many Bug types here, like this Wormite." she gestured to it. "Yet, it's still a relaxing atmosphere."

"Speaking of which, I was just about to catch it!" Lorenzo remembered as he refocused. Rosalina decided to watch. "Pikuleck, Peck!" The bird charged at Wormite but the Glow Worm used String Shot to sling on to a tree and dodge. "Spiderman?" Kaylee said under her breath and got an odd lock from Merlee.

"Not bad!" Lorenzo admitted. "Use Wing Attack!" Pikuleck flew over and cut through the string, causing Wormite to fall!

"Now use Peck!" Lorenzo shouted and Pikuleck flew straight towards the Bug type. However, Wormite suddenly left off a blinding glare! "Ahh! Flash!" Merlee yelled as she and Embarge covered their eyes. Pikuleck was very disoriented.

"Try to snap out of it!" Lorenzo said. Wormite lunged forward, ready for a Tackle attack! "Peck straight ahead!" Lorenzo shouted and Pikuleck threw his beak forward, nailing the hit!

"Now it's time!" Lorenzo declared. Pokeball go!"

Wormite was hit and swept inside. Shake... shake... shake... CLICK! Wormite was captured! "Oh yeah, I got Wormite!" Lorenzo cheered. "Good for you Lorenzo!" Kaylee said.

"By the way, we haven't fully introduced ourselves." The boy turned to Rosalina as he picked up the ball. "I'm Lorenzo!" "The name's Kaylee!" "Sam here." "And my name's Merlee!"

Rosalina smiled. "It's great to meet you all!" "Us trainers really look up to the Elite Four!" Sam said. He was usually rather reserved but he appeared to be almost startstruck at the moment. Kaylee noticed this and chuckled a little.

"How'd you get so good! Tell us your secret!" Merlee said to the blonde. "It's the bond I share with my Pokemon, that's all I could really say." Rosalina answered.

"Sounds deceptively simple!" Merlee said. "It's not." Sam retorted.

"He's right." Rosaline said. "I've been with this Pokemon for years. They've been like a family to me when I had nowhere to turn, which is why I'm fully in sync with them."

The others nodded. Friendship was the true key to a Pokemon's strength. At this point Rosalina continued speaking.

" I'd like to see the bond you share with your Pokemon." Rosalina said. The others were taken aback. "You mean battle?" Lorenzo asked. "It's not an official League battle!" she laughed. "But I would still love to see your connections, in a Double Battle."

"Go for it, you are the trainers after all." Kaylee noted.

Lorenzo and Sam looked to one another. "I never had a Double Battle before!" Lorenzo said. "Well they come with a whole new set of strategies and tactics." Sam added.

"Can I referee?" Merlee asked.

"Certainly!" Rosalina answered as the battlers got into position. "Alright, here goes. Go Wormite!" Lorenzo shouted. "Go Debling!" Sam called. The two Pokemon landed on the battlefield.

Rosalina smiled as she grabbed two Pokeballs. "Starmie, Mystiplume! Go!" The Star Shaped and Peacock Pokemon were released.

"What's that?" Kaylee said as she grabbed her Pokedex. "Mystiplume, the Seer Pokemon and the evolved form of Plumigma. Their large, beautiful tail feathers have distinctive eye shaped patterns that are said to give them a view into the future."

Merlee marveled at the Pokemon. "It's so pretty!" she beamed with stars in her eyes. "Merlee focus, you're the ref!" Sam called over.

She stopped fidgeting and refocused. "Right. May the battle begin!" she said in a referee voice. "Wormite use Tackle on Starmie!" "Debling, use Icy Wind on Mystiplume!"

"Psychic!" Rosalina commanded and the two stopped the attacks in their place.

Wormite was struggling to move. "Looks like Lorenzo is in a tough position." Kaylee said. "Flash!" Lorenzo yelled and the bright light threw off the opponents. In that brief moment they were vulnerable to attack!

"Water Gun!" Sam commanded and Mystiplume was doused. "Ah, he's ruining its pretty feathers!" Merlee shivered. "Merlee!" Kaylee rolled her eyes. "Looks don't matter in a battle ya know!"

"Alright Starmie use Thunderbolt on Debling. Mystiplume, use Aerial Ace on Wormite!" Rosalina ordered. The twin attacks hit their marks, dealing loads of damage! Wormite and Debling struggled to get up.

"Team work is key you guys!" Kaylee shouted. The two Pokemon nodded to each other as their trainers did likewise. "Wormite, use String Shot on the tree!" Lorenzo shouted, and looked to Sam. Sam nodded, understanding where he was going with this. "Debling, jump on its back!"

Wormite swung from tree to tree with Debling on its back. Rosalina looked intrigued. "Icy Wind!" Sam commanded and Debling released an onslaught from the trees that hit Starmie and Mystiplume from several directions. "Interesting." Merlee commented.

The two Pokemon were nimbly weaving through the trees. Suddenly, Rosalina felt a presence. She turned and saw two unfamiliar shadows in the bushes.

Sam noticed her reaction. "What's wrong Rosalina?"

She shook her head. "I felt as if two people were watching us. But that shouldn't matter, let's continue." The others nodded.

However in the blink of an eye, Merlee's Embarge was snatched! "Embarge!" Merlee screamed. The black-clad thief ran and the others adamantly followed after.

"Get back here!" Kaylee yelled. However, at this point, he fled deeper into the woods. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the gang, the second figure was nodding. "Nice work so far."

"You are SO going to get it!" Merlee cried as they looked for him. Rosalina released a Gardevoir. "Gardevoir, try to sense his presence." she told the Pokemon. These Pokemon have the intuitive ability to sense these kinds of things.

Gardevoir closed its eyes and began to search for the emotional aura of the thief. Suddenly it felt the presence and fired a Moon Blast at a bush. The thief hit the ground!

Merlee immediately ran over and grabbed her Embarge. "Who do you think you are?" she shouted as she took of the hat and mask.

The gang immediately saw a shock of red spiky hair. "Wes!?" Lorenzo, Sam and Kaylee shouted in unison. "I knew you were a jerk and all, but come on!" Sam yelled.

Merlee was outraged, yet oddly intrigued. "Why would someone so attractive turn to crime!?" Everyone sweatdropped at her remark. "Really." Kaylee deadpanned.

"I have my reasons." he said, looking away from her.

Rosalina still looked like she was on alert. "There's still someone else out there. Show yourself!" A mischievous cackle was heard. "You fools may have won now but just you wait!"

The shadowy form of a cloaked figure on a broom emerged. "Come now, Wes!" it spoke and Wes walked over. "Hey, where are you going?" Lorenzo shouted. "We're not done yet!"

Wes and the broomed figure ignored him and started to converse. "We gave you this simple mission and so far you're failing!" Wes sucked his teeth at the remark. "I don't need you to lecture me Kamek!"

"Then do it right!" the Koopa wizard shrilled.

The five immediately surrounded them. "I don't understand why you're doing this, but we're bringing you to justice!" Kaylee shouted. Sam also stepped forward. "You do realize you're out numbered, right?"

The turtle wizard sighed. "It looks like we fumbled this one." Wes puffed up in anger. "You could've been of more held than just hanging out in that bush!"

"Well if you didn't leave Leacria at the HQ this would've went smoother!"

The others sweatdropped at the display. It was like a father and son bickering. "Let's end this." Lorenzo said in an annoyed voice as Wormite got ready. The others got ready to have their Pokemon attack as well.

"Come on boy! RETREAT!" Kamek yelped. Wes groaned, "This is so lame. I'm embarrassed for the both of us."

"Quiet boy!" Kamek yelled. With a swipe of his wand the two disappeared in a puff of smoke before they could be further harmed. "Cool exit I'll admit." Sam said dryly.

Rosalina shook her head. "The Koopa Troop is causing trouble again…"

"Koopa Troop?" Merlee said. "I think I've heard of that name."

"They're a troublesome group, always wreaking havoc in our kingdom." Rosalina explained.

"Those punks that tried to rob us in the past must be a part of that group too!" Kaylee clenched her fist. "They drive me crazy!"

Lorenzo looked uneasy. "Why would Wes decide to join them?" he asked. The other three were just as baffled.

"Regardless of his reasoning, you all need to be extra careful." Rosalina warned. "Your Pokemon's duty is to protect you, and your duty is to protect your Pokemon. Never let anything sever that bond."

They all nodded in understanding. Soon Rosalina got a call from the Mushroom League. (her ring tone was the Gusty Garden Galaxy theme) "Mm-hm. Yup… got it... I'll be right there." She ended the call.

"It looks like I have to tend to my duties as an Elite Four Member, but it was nice meeting you!" Rosalina said. "I hope that we can battle someday." Lorenzo said.

"I'm sure you'll grow to be an excellent trainer." she smiled as she climbed on Mystiplume's back. "May the stars shine down on you all." The two flew off into the night.

"Bye Rosalina!" Kaylee shouted. "Safe travels!" Sam waved. "I like your hair!" Merlee finished.

Everyone looked at her. "Merlee, that's how you decide to close an encounter with an Elite?" Kaylee asked. Merlee shrugged. "Come on, you have to have an appreciation for style!" The boys rolled their eyes. Fortunately, the gang would be out of the forest and on the streets of Jadevine Town by tomorrow.

Yet still, a tense aura lingered; something sinister was afoot and Wes chose to become a part of it...

* * *

**(A/N: New Pokemon:**

**Wormite: Bug**

**Mystiplume: Psychic/Flying**

**Plumigma: (mentioned, pre-evo of Mystiplume) Psychic**

**Wes is now working with the bad guys! Not only that, but the next Gym is around the corner. Who will it be!? Virtual cookies for whoever can guess it. Please R&R and see ya soon!)**


	11. Serving Up Trouble!

**(A/N: The gang has arrived in Jadevine Town! What lies ahead? Stick around to find out!)**

* * *

_Chapter 11: Serving Up Trouble!_

After an eventful morning (and by eventful we mean getting chased by wild Ursaring) the quartet saw Jadevine Town in the distance. "We're here!" Lorenzo shouted happily. The others looked relieved.

"Finally!" Kaylee and Merlee panted in exhaustion. "It's been 3000 years!"

"So dramatic." Sam sighed as he shook his head.

As they began to walk towards the town, Lorenzo noticed that Sam didn't appear to be walking with them. "Aren't you coming Sam?" the boy asked as he turned around.

"I'll stay behind. I needed to get some specialized training done for the Gym Battle." the Goomba answered.

"If you say so." Kaylee shrugged.

"By the way Sam," Lorenzo began. "I was wondering if we could face the Gym Leader in a Double Battle."

Sam thought it over before he nodded. "Sure. When I'm done, we'll take the Leader on together!"

"Great! We'll make that a promise!" Lorenzo said as he put out his hand.

"Let's give it our all!" Sam confirmed as they shook hands, sealing the deal.

* * *

Jadevine Town was a sporty place. It had several tennis courts where athletes often gathered for intense matches.

"We have time to kill until Sam's done." Merlee said as she turned to her companions. "So let's enjoy ourselves!"

"I think she's right, you have been training hard, Lorenzo." Kaylee added.

"Alright, fine. What do you suggest we do?"

Merlee looked at one of the tennis courts and then back at the other two. "So, who here is up for a round?" she said with a grin. "Tennis is odd with three people, we need one more player." Lorenzo replied. Unfortunately, the courts were rather empty today.

However, Kaylee managed to find another person on the courts: a tall, thin man in purple.

"Could you play with us?" Kaylee asked. The man gave a smug look. "I usually don't accept random, puny challengers, but you're the only ones here and Waluigi wants to play!"

The ever-competitive Kaylee took the challenge. "Bring it on!"

After three sets, Lorenzo and Kaylee managed to beat Merlee and Waluigi in a doubles match. "Whaat?" Waluigi shouted. "How did I lose!? You were cheating I tell you!"

"You lost fair and square!" Lorenzo shot back as he put down a Pokeball imprinted tennis racket. "Yeah that's right!" Kaylee sneered.

Waluigi huffed. "Hmmph, that's no way to talk to a Gym Leader, pipsqueaks!"

The three tween's eyes bulged out of their heads. "Gym Leader!?"

"That's right, just like my bro!" Waluigi said.

"I knew it!" Lorenzo pointed. "You did look kinda similar to Wario, and he DID say that his brother was the next leader after I beat him."

Waluigi laughed. "You took that windbag down? Wahaha! Well, I won't be as easy to beat!"

"What type do you train, Mr. Tall Guy?" Kaylee asked. "I _said_ my name's Waluigi! And I use Dark type Pokemon." the tall man answered. "Because when it comes to trickery and stealth, no other types compete!"

Lorenzo was feeling pretty amped. "Waluigi, I challenge you to a battle... but later, cause my friend wants to challenge you with me."

Waluigi looked interested. "A Double Battle huh? You got a deal!"

Merlee turned to Kaylee. "I hope they take the lessons from Rosalina's battle to heart. You know like bonds and teamwork and what not."

"I'm sure they'll be fine Merlee!" Kaylee responded.

"Meet me in the Gym," Waluigi gestured to a dark building a few blocks away. "You and your partner better bring your A-game!"

"You can count on it!" Lorenzo said before the man departed.

Lorenzo's confident expression quickly turned into a frantic one as he turned to face Kaylee and Merlee. "We need Sam!"

The girls nodded. "He's not too far away!" Merlee said as they left the courts.

* * *

"Sam! Oh Sam!" Lorenzo called as he walked down the tree lined path. Kaylee and Merlee looked around for him. "He must be around somewhere!" Kaylee said. Suddenly, they heard the sound of training.

"I get the feeling he's over there!" Merlee said as they walked over. Kaylee saw a small figure and playfully pushed his hat over his eyes.

"Got ya!" she taunted. The Goomba turned around. "What are you doing!?" he cried.

"Oops! I thought you were someone else!" she replied nervously.

"I think you want that guy!" the Goomba turned to the other side of the field. There stood Sam, with not two, but three Pokemon!

"Huh, since when did he have three?" Lorenzo asked. Sam noticed them and paused his training. "So you were hiding a recent addition on your team from us?" Kaylee said to him with her arms crossed.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." Sam mumbled.

Beside him stood Rapidrow, Debling and a small red and green, bulb shaped Pokemon. Kaylee pulled out her Dex. "Burnion, the Spice Pokemon. They give off a potent aroma that could bring tears to the eyes. These Pokemon are capable of surviving even in volcanic areas."

Sam gestured to it. "You see, Burnion is a Grass and Fire type, so it adds a nice type balance to the team!"

Merlee squatted down to the bulb shaped Pokemon. "Hi there!" she greeted. Her Embarge poked it in curiosity and Burnion let off a small flare.

"That's pretty cool Sam," Lorenzo said. "But if we're gonna take on the Gym Leader together, we should train together."

"Oh speaking of which!" Kaylee cut in. "We actually met the Gym Leader today!" Sam looked interested. "You did? What's he like? What type does he use?"

"His name's Waluigi and he's Wario's brother! And he uses Dark types. "

"Not to forget that we whupped him in tennis." Lorenzo felt the need to add.

"And he's not the greatest dresser." Merlee finished.

"I don't really care about the last two things. But, none of my Pokemon have a clear advantage or disadvantage against Dark types." Sam said. "Therefore, Wormite could be useful."

"That's right. Bug types are strong against Dark types." Merlee said.

"Oh yeah that's right," Lorenzo said. "I forgot."

"Tsk tsk, you should remember that from Trainer's School!" Kaylee wagged her finger in a teacher like way.

"Now, now children." a voice spoke up. The four turned around and saw the short and ever quirky professor.

"Professor E. Gadd!" Lorenzo said happily. "It's been a while." Sam noted.

"Research is always keeping me busy!" he laughed.

"We made a lot of progress professor! We saw a bunch of Pokemon and had a lot of battles and, wait for it…" Lorenzo tore through his bag before he pulled out his badge case, with a Smog Badge in the proper spot. "Ta-da!"

"Impressive, youngster! That certainly warrants a reward!"

They all brightened up. "But firstly, I noticed that you have a new traveling companion."

Merlee winked. "Merlee here! I'm sure you remember me, you gave me Embarge!"

"That's right!" E. Gadd recalled. He gave so many young trainers starter Pokemon that they occassionally blurred together in his head.

"So what's the reward Professor?" Kaylee asked eagerly. "Well, I should have said rewards; it shall be one for each of you." They all grinned.

"First," the Professor said. "I heard that you captured a Wormite Lorenzo, so I shall teach it Bug Bite!"

"Cool!" Lorenzo smiled. E. Gadd turned to Sam. "For you Sam, I will provide you with this!" he gave him a pouch containing a luminescent powder. "This is a Bright Powder. It will lower your opponent's accuracy!" he explained.

"Thanks Professor." Sam nodded as he took it.

"And as for you Kaylee, here are some Apricorn Juices! They increase performance in Pokeathlons!" E. Gadd said.

"Awesome!" Kaylee beamed. "But how'd you know I competed in Pokeathlons?"

"The Moldridge Tourney was televised and I saw you in it!" E. Gadd answered. "I was on TV!?" Kaylee exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "Yup." he answered.

As Kaylee was busy fidgeting in happiness in the background, all while garnering weird looks from the others, E. Gadd turned to Merlee. "I didn't know that you were traveling with these three, so I apologize if this gift seems last minute." He handed her a scarf.

"It's a Choice Scarf. Give it to your Embarge and it'll move very swiftly, at the cost of only being able to use one move." Merlee tied it around his neck. "I'm okay with that, it's super cute and stylish!" she grinned.

"And we'll be able to differentiate your Embarge and Kaylee's." Sam added.

The girls looked at each other. "What do you mean, we can totally tell the difference!" Kaylee laughed. Lorenzo and Sam shrugged. E. Gadd walked over to Lorenzo. "So, are you ready to learn the move?"

He nodded. "You bet Professor!"

* * *

E. Gadd and Lorenzo spent a good amount of time teaching Wormite the move. Luckily, within an hour, Wormite had it perfected! "Great job Wormite!" Lorenzo praised the Glow Worm Pokemon.

Wormite began to jump up and down in happiness. "Well, my job here is done!" E. Gadd proclaimed boldly.

Lorenzo bowed. "I can't thank you enough Professor!"

"Yeah, you helped us out a lot today!" Kaylee said.

"I'm glad. Continue to do well out there youngsters!"

"We promise!" they all chimed. E. Gadd hopped on a large vacuum cleaner. "Ta ta!"

"He's not seriously going to ride that thing?" Merlee asked. "You don't even know…" Sam shook his head as the quirky man took off at surprising speeds.

Lorenzo just shrugged, starting to get used to the man's antics. "Now is where the real training begins!"

"That's right!" the Goomba added.

* * *

**(A/N: How will the duo fare in this Gym battle? Stick around! And please R&R)**


	12. The Double Darkness Duel!

**(A/N: ****I want to thank my one reviewer The Ultimate Lampent. Hopefully more will come. Anyway, o**ur heroes take on Waluigi. How will this end…?)

* * *

_Chapter 12: The Double Darkness Duel!_

Lorenzo and Sam were making a lot of preparations for their upcoming Gym Battle. "We have to be fully in sync during this battle, understood?" Sam said to Lorenzo as they trained. The boy nodded in response.

As the duo trained, Kaylee went jogging with her Pokémon and Merlee fiddled with Embarge's scarf.

'Pokemon are so cool to accessorize!' she thought gleefully. 'Hmm, accessorize… maybe…'

However, Lorenzo's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "We'll hit up the PokeCenter and then it's off to the Gym!"

"Sounds good to me!" Sam replied. "We're wasting no time in getting that badge!"

"Come on Kaylee and Merlee, we're heading out!" Lorenzo called.

"K!" the girls said as they made their way back to town.

* * *

After a rest at the Center, the four were faced by the foreboding entrance to the Gym. Lorenzo slowly pushed open the gate and was greeted by the dark interior.

"Sheesh it's so dark!" Kaylee said as they strolled the hallway.

"Took ya long enough!" Waluigi's voice scoffed at the end of the hall, causing the four to jump a little.

"Augh, we didn't know you were there!" Lorenzo cried while clenching his chest.

"Whatever! Just know that we're ready for whatever you'll throw at us!" Sam retorted. Waluigi grinned. "Then let's go! Hopefully you're not as wimpy in battle!"

"He probably has it in for me after the tennis match." Lorenzo whispered to Kaylee and Merlee.

"Good luck, soldier." Kaylee whispered back in condolence.

* * *

They arrived at the battlefield. It was dark purple with several pillars. "You may have beaten my bro, but no one is trickier than Wa-lu-igi!" Waluigi taunted.

"We have the resolve to win and we will stop at nothing!" Lorenzo shouted.

"Pfft, that's what they all say. Now are you ready?"

"Yeah! Go Wormite!" Lorenzo shouted. "Go Burnion!" Sam called out. The two Pokémon emerged and got into a battle stance.

Waluigi pulled out two Pokeballs. "Clawick, Lunatyr! Go!" he shouted. "Claww!" "Luna!" they cried.

"Wow, Waluigi has a Clawick just like Wario!" Kaylee observed. "Wari-who?" Merlee scratched her head and her Embarge shrugged.

"This will be a 2-on-2 Double Battle! When all four of the opposing side's Pokémon are defeated, the winner shall be decided! Furthermore, only the challengers may substitute Pokémon!" the referee spoke. "So, without further ado, let the battle begin!"

"Wormite, String Shot, just like we practiced!" Lorenzo commanded. "Burnion, hop on its back and use Flame Burst!" Sam ordered.

Just like in the battle against Rosalina, Wormite slung from the pillars surrounding the battlefield with Burnion on its back, all whilst the latter was unleashing a fiery attack from several directions.

Lunatyr and Clawick were hit but not incredibly damaged. "Clawick, cut the string with Poison Claw and Lunatyr use Aerial Ace!" The two nimbly jumped in the air.

"Quick tell it to dodge!" Sam shouted. "Uhh.." Lorenzo fumbled for a bit.

Unfortunatley, Lorenzo didn't command in time and Clawick slashed the string, causing the Pokémon to plummet. Lunatyr then knocked into the two with incredible speed, sending them flying into a wall.

"Oh no, are you okay?" Lorenzo asked worriedly. Wormite hopped back up. "Mite!"

"You gotta stay on top of things!" Sam said to Lorenzo. "Right! I'm sorry!" the boy apologized.

The Goomba refocused. "Burnion use Magical Leaf on Lunatyr!"

"And Wormite, use Bug Bite on Clawick!"

Burnion released glowing, unavoidable leaves at Lunatyr and they chased the Eclipse Pokémon around the field. Simultaneously, Clawick was bitten by Wormite. However, Waluigi knew how to exploit this.

"Lunatyr, jump behind Wormite!" Waluigi shouted. Lunatyr leapt behind it, causing the Magical Leaf to slam right into the Glow Worm Pokémon!

"What a crafty move!" Merlee remarked.

Lorenzo growled. "Use Flash!"

Wormite let off a blinding light that threw the enemies off. Unfortunately, it also affected Burnion.

"Easy with that," Sam warned. "Burnion was nearly blinded by that too!"

"Shoot, I wasn't thinking!" Lorenzo mentally slapped himself.

"Whatever. Try to use Flame Burst!" Sam commanded. Burnion was disoriented but it managed to strike Lunatyr and Clawick simultaneously. "Talk about dumb luck." Sam commented.

Lunatyr and Clawick were hurt, but still had energy in the tank. "Double Shadow Ball!" Waluigi called and the twin attacks made their way across the battlefield.

"Dodge and use Energy Ball/Bug Bite!" Lorenzo and Sam ordered respectively.

Wormite blind-sided Clawick with the chomp and Lunatyr was struck hard by the Energy Ball. And with this, the Venom Pokémon and the Eclipse Pokémon were finished.

"Yeah! Good job you two!" Kaylee cheered. Merlee and her Embarge were cheering as well.

"Lunatyr and Clawick are unable to battle!" the referee declared.

Waluigi returned his Pokémon. "Don't get too excited. That was just a warm up!"

The two trainers remained diligent as the last two Pokémon were sent out. "We can do this. Let's just try to synchronize a little more." Sam said.

"Cularia! Darsatyr! Let's go!" Waluigi called out. Two Pokémon emerged from the ball. The first was a black and purple mosquito with a long stinger and rapidly beating wings. The next was a tall, upright goat-like creature with the top part of its body being pale blue and its legs being black. It had crescent-shaped horns and shaggy black fur around its neck and head.

"What are they?" Kaylee said as she scanned them.

"Cularia, the Mosquito Pokémon. They are known to drain the energy of humans and Pokémon alike. They become quite active in the summer."

"Darsatyr, the Lunar Pokémon and the evolved form of Lunatyr. These Pokémon were revered in ancient times as guardians of the moon. They will fight endlessly to protect their allies."

"These two look tough." Merlee noted. "And Wormite and Burnion are getting tired." Kaylee shivered.

The referee spoke up again. "Let the battle commence!"

Wormite and Burnion looked at the new foes with slight intimidation. "Burnion, use Flame Burst on Cularia!" Sam ordered. "Wormite, Bug Bite on Darsatyr!" Lorenzo commanded.

"Cularia, dodge and use Aerial Ace! Darsatyr, Headbutt!" Waluigi shouted. The Mosquito Pokémon zipped through the air and zeroed in on Burnion, heavily damaging it.

Likewise, Darsatyr sprung in front of Wormite and rammed it causing the tiny Pokémon to go flying. Unluckily for the duo, Wormite happened to fly straight into a dazed Burnion, knocking the two of them out at the same time.

Everyone gasped. "That power is insane!" Merlee cried. "It only took one move each!"

"Lorenzo and Sam have a tough act to beat." Kaylee shook her head.

"Wormite, return." "Burnion, return." The two boys recalled their Pokémon.

"It's true that my last Pokémon are tough." Waluigi grinned. "And I haven't even used my main strategy yet!"

"We need to cover each other's backs." Sam turned to Lorenzo. "We only have one shot left and coordination is key!"

His partner nodded. "Understood! Let's show him our teamwork! Go Aquelip!"

"Go Grolinguito!"

The two Starter Pokémon landed on the field, determination running through their veins.

"Let's see how well you coordinate with this!" Waluigi called. "Cularia, Supersonic!" The Mosquito Pokémon released a terrible wave that beat down on Aquelip and Grolinguito. "Fight it!" Lorenzo yelled. "Don't let it get to you!"

The two Pokemon struggled to hold on to their senses, but fortunately for them, their fighting was not in vain. "Water Gun on Cularia!" Lorenzo commanded. "And you use Vine Whip on Darsatyr!" Sam pointed.

They teetered for a moment before successfully using the attacks.

"They fought right through the confusion. Awesome!" Kaylee beamed.

"Oh confusion ain't enough for you?" Waluigi said. "Try this! Darsatyr, Cularia. Double Team!"

It's bad enough when one Pokémon uses Double Team. But now that two Pokémon used the technique, Aquelip and Grolinguito were practically drowning in a sea of clones.

"Lorenzo, there's an opening in there somewhere." Sam said to him.

"That's right but how will we find it?" the boy asked. Sam's eyes gained a dangerous glint. "Just follow my lead!"

"Hehehe! This'll throw you off!" Waluigi said. "Cularia, Giga Drain! Darsatyr, use Shadow Ball!" All of the clones formed attacks of their own, but only two were real.

"Dig!" Sam shouted. The Goomba then gave Lorenzo a communicative look as Grolinguito dug underground. Unfortunately, the brunet didn't read into it. "Aqua Cutter!" Lorenzo commanded.

Sam's face changed. "That's not what I was planning!" Sam shouted.

Unfortunately, Aquelip's Aqua Cutter only intercepted with attacks from duplicates. Thus, the true attacks hit it from its blind spots! "Shoot!" Merlee yelled.

Sam sighed. "I'll have to improvise. Grolinguito, use Razor Leaf while you're underground!" The Grass type obeyed and began to fire the leaves. They managed to cut through the ground and hit the opponents from underneath.

But, some of the leaves accidentally hit Aquelip!

"Sam!" Lorenzo wailed.

"It was an accident!" the Goomba said as Grolinguito came out of the ground.

"Yeah but we could've given your strategy another shot before you resorted to that!"

"Well sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!" Sam huffed.

Waluigi grinned. They were clearly out of sync and he could clearly take advantage of that.

"Darsatyr, Shade Kick! Cularia, Aerial Ace!" he shouted. "Huh!?" the two boys suddenly snapped out of their exchange.

At that moment, Darsatyr and Cularia flew towards Aquelip and Grolinguito at blinding SPEEDS. The smaller Pokémon only braced themselves before the attack impacted, causing smoke to obscure the field.

Kaylee and Merlee looked astounded, as did Lorenzo. Sam simply groaned. "This is it…"

When the smoke cleared, the two Pokémon had swirls in their eyes. "Aquelip and Grolinguito are unable to battle, which means that victory goes to the Leader Waluigi!"

Waluigi proudly stood tall. "Wahaha! You'll have to use better cooperation if you want this badge." The heroes looked down.

"I'm really sorry Aquelip." Lorenzo said plaintively as he picked up the tired Pokémon. "Aque…" it said weakly.

Sam recalled Grolinguito and sighed. "So you can't win them all..."

Lorenzo felt awful. "I screwed up bad. Real bad. I'm so sorry Sam."

Sam stood up from where his injured Pokémon was and spoke. "Our coordination faltered throughout the whole match. If this is how we're gonna battle together, we're not winning anytime soon."

"But Sam! We promised to defeat him together!" Lorenzo pleaded.

"Truthfully, I don't see that happening. We should just take him on ourselves. I battle my way and you battle yours." The Goomba said before he walked away. "That's just how it'll be…"

A crestfallen Lorenzo simply turned to Waluigi. "We'll be back later… come on Kaylee and Merlee."

The two girls quietly walked out of the stands and followed Lorenzo. It would be a long day tomorrow. Hopefully Lorenzo and Sam can choose the right path to victory, whether it's together or on their own…

* * *

**(A/N: New Pokémon**

**Cularia: Bug/Dark**

**Darsatyr: Dark/Fighting**

**So there you have it. This version of the story is beginning to catch up with the raw version that I put on Miiverse, so updates may start to become slower. It's kinda like when an anime adaption starts to catch up with its manga adaption, except without the filler. Anywho, now that I'm done rambling, I hope you like the chapter and don't forget to R&R. I wanna know what you think! So until next time, later!)**


	13. The Recuperation Confrontation!

**(A/N: This may appear to be a rather slow chapter, but it will establish a crucial story element. So enjoy!)**

* * *

_Chapter 13: The Recuperation Confrontation!_

Lorenzo, Sam, Kaylee and Merlee were in the local Pokemon Center. The boys certainly needed a breather after that intense battle. While, Nurse Joy was busy healing the tired Pokemon, the gang went to their own parts of the lobby: Lorenzo at a table at the far left, Sam near a corner by the window, and Kaylee and Merlee at their own table.

'I just can't keep up.' Lorenzo thought as looked to his Goomba companion. 'Sure practice went well, but I just couldn't pull my weight in the actual battle.'

Merlee noticed how dismal he seemed. "It's a real shame they lost." She sighed.

"Yeah I know, but they really need to work on their teamwork and coordination." the Koopa said to the pink haired girl. "So why not give them a little pep talk?"

Merlee nodded and stood up. Kaylee went over to Sam and Merlee went over to Lorenzo.

"Cheer up, we all lose some times!" Merlee said to the boy. "Don't get discouraged!"

"I know," Lorenzo sighed. "But I let us both down."

"Quit saying that. You'll just put yourself in a slump." Merlee stated. "Just try to learn from your mistakes and move on." Her Embarge nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Kaylee spoke to Sam. "You should give Double Battling with Lorenzo another shot."

The Goomba side eyed her. "But it's more efficient to fight one on one."

"Efficent? Please! It's quicker for both of you to take him on!" Kaylee answered. "Besides, you made the promise."

"Again with that promise? You're not giving up on this aren't you?" Sam said. She stood her place and crossed her arms.

"Nope!"

"You two have potential," a familiar voice suddenly came in, causing the group to turn around. "Why not give it another shot?"

"Rosalina!?" the four said in unison. "I made a little pit stop," she admitted. "But anyway, Double Battles come with enormous benefits. It allows the best parts of both trainer's strategies to complement each other."

The four looked at each other. "Lorenzo, you tend to be more straightforward and direct whereas Sam tends to be more calculating. However, when you battle side by side, you can absorb your partner's tactics and use it to further improve your own." she explained.

"That's true..." Lorenzo said. Sam also thought for a moment.

"Why not try again? " Rosalina asked. "Of course it's tough adjusting to another person's style but you mustn't give up. So what do you say?"

Lorenzo turned to Sam. "Will we give this another go... together?"

The Goomba stood up. "Alright… we'll take him on again. And this time we're winning!"

"Awesome!" Lorenzo cheered. "The Pokemon should be ready soon, so let's practice!"

As the boys walked off together, Kaylee looked happy. "Thanks a bunch Rosalina!"

"Yeah, it was up to us girls to talk some sense into them!" Merlee proclaimed as she crossed her arms.

"You're welcome!" Rosalina bowed. "But the thing is, I can understand why Sam is struck so hard by a loss."

"You don't say." Merlee replied.

"He wants to do his Goomba brethren well, they're virtually unheard of as trainers..." The woman said. "Therefore, he wants to show the world that they aren't weak."

Kaylee nodded. "I guess Lorenzo's the same way. He wants to show the world that he's just as good as his bro."

"Exactly," Rosalina responded. "Their motivation is quite similar. Hopefully, they can use that shared motivation and find the path to victory."

"I'm sure they will!" the girls said in unison.

"Well, I wish you all the best of luck, farewell." Rosalina waved as she left once again. "Being an Elite Four Member takes a lot of work!" she said to herself as the automatic door closed behind her.

* * *

It was the middle of the afternoon. Lorenzo and Sam were in the middle of their training regime. Kaylee watched them warm up and Merlee read a magazine.

"So cool..." she thought out loud as she flipped through the glossy pages.

"What are you reading, Merlee?" Kaylee asked thoughtfully.

"Oh it's a magazine on what's hot in the Mushroom Kingdom!" she smiled.

"Oh, one of _those_." the Koopa rolled her eyes.

"Oh come now Kaylee, it's not one of those trashy rags you find in the Beanbean Kingdom! It's a sophisticated periodical, and they even have a segment on contests!" the pink haired girl showed her the pages. Sharply dressed competitors and beautiful attacks were displayed.

Kaylee looked intrigued. "Oh, so that's what you're starting to become interested in."

Merlee nodded as she adjusted Embarge's scarf. "Yeah, you could say that. I really like making my Pokemon look good, and accessorizing Embarge helped me realize that. Besides," she grinned as she held the magazine close. "Everything looks so pretty~!"

"That's awesome Merlee," Kaylee said. "You're finally realizing what you want to do on your journey!"

Merlee smiled weakly. "Yeahh. But then again, soon I'll be exploring this huge Kingdom all alone. That _is_ what I said I'd do, you know, back in Moldridge Town."

There was a silence. "Listen, I'm sure you'll meet lots of new friends along the way." Kaylee said. "And I'm certain you'll cherish the time the four of us spent together."

Merlee nodded. "That's true. Besides, I'll still be around for the rematch!"

A smile crept across Kyalee's face. "And I'm sure we'll still run into each other along the way. It's not like we'll never see each other again!"

"True. But until I leave, let's make these moments count!"

"You got it!" Kaylee beamed as they gave each other a high five.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the far reaches of the kingdom, Bowser and Kamek are in a dusty old library deep within the castle.

"Well, here it is!" Kamek proclaimed as he pulled out a large and rather dilapidated book.

"Sheesh Kamek, took you long enough!" Bowser coughed as the book scattered dust. "So how will this help us?"

The Koopa wizard grinned. "This is an old book of Legends. It provides us with further instructions on how to awaken the Legendary Pokemon!"

This perked the king's interest. "Go on!"

Kamek opened it up. "Remember how you said that only special people can awaken the Legendary Pokemon? Well this book will give us clues as to who it is, Your Repulsiveness."

"Ah interesting! Lemme see!" Bowser began to flip through it… before he eventually succumbed to boredom. "Blah blah blah... too many words! Can they get to the point!" he roared.

Kamek shook his finger. "Tsk tsk, my Lord." With a wave of his wand, suddenly the words and illustrations began to magically float off of the page. Bowser looked on in awe.

"I only brought up the most important points." Kamek explained. "Any-who, according to the prophecy, every generation 5 sacred individuals are destined to inherit the power to wake up the slumbering Legendaries..."

Bowser nodded as the words floated all around the room. "These sacred ones are known as the Star Prodigies." An illustration of five cloaked figures floated in front of the pair.

"Star Prodigies, huh?" Bowser said.

"Correct. Imbued within their souls is a unique power that allows them to connect with the 5 sacred Legendary Pokemon and rouse them out of their sleep." An illustration of 5 fantastical creatures drifted by.

"However," Kamek frowned. "We have no idea who they are nor do we know exactly how to access their full potential."

Bowser grinned darkly. "Then that's where stage two of our plan comes in. We're gonna go across the land and find out who they are!"

"Easier said than done, Your Wretchedness."

"No duh," Bowser retorted. "But we have seven Koopalings, my son... and that other kid."

"Aren't we forgetting someone?"

Bowser thought for a moment. "That's right, ME!"

Kamek sweatdropped. "Whatever you say, my Lord."

Bowser stood up tall. "We have been succeeding in stealing some Pokemon and building our army. Now we just have to round up the minions, and find those Star Prodigies at all costs!"

"Why yes, and hopefully we can find a way to identify which ones are and which ones aren't." Kamek reminded.

"That'll be for later, but as for now, every person that we suspect, we're kidnapping… and what better targets are there than the Gym Leaders and Elite Four?" he grinned.

"You have a point sir." Kamek said.

"Good, now get every together! We have Legendaries to claim!" Bowser's voice filled the starless night. This new development could certainly spell trouble, not only for Lorenzo and the gang, but the whole kingdom…

* * *

**(A/N: The plot thickens as the search for the Star Prodigies begins. Simultaneously, Lorenzo and Sam will re-challenge Waluigi in the next chapter. Stick around and R&R. See ya!)**


	14. Darkness Duel! Act Two!

**(A/N: I'm back with the rematch against Waluigi! I hope you enjoy)**

* * *

_Chapter 14: Darkness Duel! Act Two!_

It was a bright new day and Lorenzo rose out of bed feeling refreshed and full of vigor. Today would be the day of the rematch against Waluigi! After getting ready, he met up with the others in the lobby of the Pokémon Center.

"Someone's excited." Merlee giggled as she saw him run over to them.

"Of course I'm excited." Lorenzo said as he adjusted his hat. "Things will be different this time!"

"Well you definitely put in a ton of effort, so you totally deserve to walk out with the badge!" Kaylee spoke around a piece of toast in her mouth.

"Let's not talk in absolutes." Sam said. "But we're giving this one more shot."

"Alright, are you all ready? Let's move!" Lorenzo declared as they made their way to the Gym once more.

* * *

They walked down the familiar streets of Jadevine Town. Passing by the tennis courts, the four eventually saw the dark building. Upon closer examination it appeared that two figures were outside of the Gym.

"Hey Waluigi. And... Wario?" Lorenzo tilted his head.

"Yup!" the stocky man replied. "Takin a break from the Gym for a bit."

"I see." Sam said as he pictured his unfortunate Gym assistants having to pick up the slack.

'So this is the guy they mentioned earlier.' Merlee thought with a not so pleasant expression. Her Embarge gave her a quizzical look.

"Anyway, are you ready for the rematch?" Waluigi asked.

"Mm-hm! We trained super hard!" Lorenzo said as he stepped forward.

Wario crossed his arms. "You better actually beat him this time runts!"

"Yeah, I want a challenge this time. So come on!" Waluigi beckoned them inside.

Once again, they were greeted by the dark interior. "If it's possible it seems darker than it was before." Kaylee shuddered.

Once they reached the battlefield, several lights turned on much to her relief. She really doesn't like the dark.

"You know the drill." Waluigi said as he twirled a Pokeball on his finger. "Double Battle!"

"Well of course! We spent the whole day preparing!" Sam replied.

"Don't get snappy boy!" the tall man retorted. Merlee stifled a laugh as the referee got in his usual spot on the field.

"This will be a 2-on-2 Double Battle! When all four of the opposing side's Pokémon are defeated, the winner shall be decided! Furthermore, only the challengers may substitute Pokémon! So, without further ado, let the battle begin!" the referee declared.

"Alright, here goes. Wormite, come on out!" Lorenzo called. "Burnion, let's do this!" Sam shouted. The two Pokémon landed down on the field looking as ready as ever.

Waluigi pulled out two Pokeballs. "Sneasel! Purrloin! Let's go!"

Sam looked a little bewildered at his choice of Pokémon. "Don't tell me you're trying to go soft on us with an Ice type?"

Waluigi rolled his eyes. "Type advantages mean nothing when you're as sneaky as Waluigi! Anyway, Purrloin, Sneasel! Fake Out!"

The two Pokémon lunged in a startling manner, causing Wormite and Burnion to flinch!

Lorenzo and Sam groaned. "Now, Purrloin use Shadow Claw and Sneasel use Ice Shard!" Waluigi commanded. Purrloin's claws grew a dark aura and it leapt forward. Simultaneously, Sneasel shot out several fragments of ice.

Wormite and Burnion soon recovered from the flinch. "Wormite use String Shot on Purrloin!" Lorenzo yelled.

"Burnion, Flame Burst that Ice Shard!" Sam shouted.

Wormite released the sticky string and it impeded Purrloin, preventing it from landing a hit. Additionally, the Flame Burst completely melted the Ice Shard!

"They're not doing too bad, eh Wario?" Kaylee turned to him.

"This is just the beginning! Don't be so sure!"

As Purrloin struggled in the string, Sneasel had no other choice but to help out. "Slash it off!" Waluigi called. The Sharp Claw Pokémon did as told and began to hack at the sticky string.

"Here's an open opportunity." Sam said to Lorenzo.

"String Shot again!" the boy called. Now both Sneasel and Purrloin were tangled up!

Sam grinned dangerously. "Flame Burst! Full power!"

Burnion charged up before releasing the flames at full power. The flammable string that entangled the foes only made the attack stronger.

"Shoot!" Waluigi stomped as he saw that Purrloin and Sneasel were both knocked out.

"Sneasel and Purrloin are unable to battle!"

Kaylee and Merlee jumped. "Yes! Good start, guys!"

"Quit the celebrating, it's not over." Wario rolled his eyes and the girls sat down.

Waluigi angrily returned the Pokémon. "Are you kidding me? Talk about cheap! But this'll all end here. Darsatyr, Cularia! Go!"

The mosquito and satyr stood menacingly before Burnion and Wormite. The Glow Worm shuddered slightly but Burnion gave him a reassuring look.

"Let the battle resume!" the referee declared.

"Wormite, use String Shot!" Lorenzo commanded. "Burnion, Flame Burst!" Sam added. The two attacks merged and created a huge fiery ball.

"Not so fast! Cularia, Darsatyr! Shadow Ball!"

The twin orbs of darkness combined and hit the fire ball, causing smoke to fill the arena. Kaylee, Merlee and Wario started to cough. Burnion and Wormite looked back and forth, unable to see clearly in the smog.

'He's clearly using the smoke to hide.' Sam thought.

"Try to illuminate the area with Flash!" Lorenzo commanded. Wormite's body let off a sharp glow that helped cut through the smoke.

However, when the area was illuminated, Cularia was right in front of it. "Quick, Burnion! Flame Burst on Cularia!" Sam called. But unfortunately, Darsatyr came out of nowhere and took Burnion down, causing it to misfire!

Kaylee and Merlee gasped as Wormite was hit by the attack, knocking it out!

"No!" Lorenzo shouted.

"Wormite is unable to battle!" the referee declared.

"Man, defeated by your own partner." Merlee shook her head.

"Pa-thetic!" Wario laughed.

"Quiet you!" Kaylee snapped at the portly man.

"You did your best out there." Lorenzo said as he returned Wormite. His attention then focused on the Pokeball on his belt. "I need to pull my weight in this battle… me and Sam are counting on you... Go Aquelip!"

The ball was thrown and the small Water type appeared before him. "Aque!"

"Let's deal with the freaky onion next!" Waluigi smirked. "Cularia, Aerial Ace and Darsatyr use Headbutt!"

The two came hurtling towards Burnion at insane speeds. "Aquelip! Use your tail to grab Burnion!" Lorenzo shouted.

As commanded, Aquelip used its long tail as a lasso to grab Burnion away from danger, causing Darsatyr to hit the ground. But...

"Aerial Ace never misses!" Waluig reminded as Cularia did a mid-air rotation, striking Burnion and knocking it out. Sam winced. He should have remembered that.

"It's all tied up, I can't watch!" Merlee squeaked.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Kaylee said.

"Burnion is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "This is gonna be close." Lorenzo shivered. "Relax," Sam said as he returned Burnion. "We're going at this with a strategy!"

He grabbed a Pokeball. "Grolinguito, go!"

The Leaf Cub landed on the field. "Guiito!"

"Heh, it'll be just as easy as last time." Waluigi sneered.

"Just you wait!" Lorenzo worked up the gall to say."Aquelip, you know the drill!" The Trident Pokemon nodded and propped Grolinguito on its tail.

"What could this be?" Wario asked. Kaylee and Merlee were also unaware of what they were planning.

Grolinguito slowly put its weight down. "That's right, just a little more." Sam said.

"I'm not having any of this! Cularia, Darsatyr, Shadow Ball!" Waluigi shouted. The two attacks were sent in their direction.

"Okay now!" Sam yelled.

The pressure that was placed on Aquelip's durable tail resulted in a spring effect. Grolinguito was catapulted through the air and managed to slam right into Darsatyr.

However, back where Aquelip was, there were two Shadow Ball attacks heading his way. "Dodge them!" Lorenzo ordered. Aquelip jumped and rolled away from one, but the second one managed to hit dead on.

"Looks like a critical hit!" Kaylee gasped.

Aquelip struggled to get up. "Come on Aquelip, you can do this!" Lorenzo called. It fell to its knees, only making the trainer lose more hope.

Wario shook his head once more. "This is it." However, suddenly a bright light enveloped the Water type.

"Could it be!?" Kaylee shouted. "Why yes it is!" Merlee cried. Waluigi and Wario were dumbfounded. Aquelip grew taller, and developed more fin like potrusions on its body. Its tail became sturdier and its arms and legs became longer and stronger.

"It evolved! And I just became a Captain Obvious!" Sam shouted. Lorenzo pulled out his Pokedex, never losing focus on the new creature. He was in complete awe!

"Neptide, the Sea Drake Pokémon and the evolved form of Aquelip. It's powerfully developed arm, legs and tails enable it to survive and navigate in even the roughest seas, where no boats dare to venture."

"W-w-wow! I can't believe it! Congrats Aque- I mean, Neptide!" Lorenzo muttered.

"Tide!" it cried in response. It would take a while to get used to its new size.

"Enough theatrics, let's fight!" Waluigi shouted.

"Okay okay, Grolinguito, use Dig!" Sam called and the small creature burrowed underground.

"Neptide jump in with him!" Lorenzo commanded.

Cularia and Eclipsatyr kept their guard up. "Trying a failed strategy? Pfft!" Waluigi scoffed. "Cularia, Darsatyr, Shadow Ball in that tunnel!"

Grolinguito and Neptide, both saw the attacks heading after them and freaked out a little, scurrying a little bit faster underground.

"I wish we could see what's happening down there." Kaylee leaned forward in her seat.

There was a bit of rustling until suddenly the ground loosened up on the field. Grolinguito and Neptide both jumped out of the ground with the Shadow Ball attacks behind them.

"Send them back to 'em!" the boys called. Neptide and Rapidrow spun and whacked the spheres of darkness with their tails causing them to fly into into the opponents.

Cularia and Eclipsatyr were disoriented from the hit. "Cheaters!" Waluigi yelled.

"Now, Neptide, Aqua Cutter!" " Grolinguito Razor Leaf!" Lorenzo and Sam commanded.

A storm of sharpened blades of water and leaves enveloped the opponents, striking them from several directions! Merlee was mesmerized by the synchronized and dazzling display. "Pretty…" she said.

When the attack cleared the two Dark types fell to the floor. "Darsatyr and Cularia are unable to battle which means that victory goes to the challengers!"

"Yes! We did it!" Lorenzo cheered. "You know it!" Sam shouted as they high fived. Neptide and Grolinguito, even in the wake of their exhaustion, smiled at each other.

Kaylee and Merlee were jumping up and down while Wario looked intrigued. "First me, and now him!" Wario proclaimed. "Whodda thunk?"

"Alright, alright. You beat me. I guess you learned from that loss earlier." The thin man sighed. "You know the speech. As per league rules here is the Mischief Badge." He handed them each a black and white badged that resembled a moon.

The duo accepted their badges and put them in their respective slots.

"Well bro, we're in the same boat." Wario walked over to Waluigi and slapped his back.

The taller man nodded. "Yeaah, but at I least beat them once! You couldn't even do that!"

"Watch it tooth pick!"

Before Waluigi could toss an insult back (and he certainly had a lot) his phone rang.

"Hello?... What?... watch our backs?...yeah yeah got it... it's these brats that should be careful. Yup... smell ya later." He shut his phone before turning to the others. "A Gym Leader called and she sounded frantic. Apparently some wackos are up to no good and they're targeting trainers and Gym Leaders alike."

Wario balled up his fist. "My Gym was just targeted recently. Those lousy crooks!"

"We handled crooks before. We should be alright out there." Lorenzo assured.

"Alright then. Anyways, the Leader who called is in the next town over, Miryla Town!" Waluigi said.

"BUT!" Wario cut in. "It's on the edge of our kingdom, almost in Sarasaland. And you gotta cross a desert to get there!"

"A desert, yay..." Sam groaned.

"You just won a badge, be happy!" Kaylee laughed.

"Just watch your backs from thieves in the desert." Wario warned

"AND kidnappers. Those have been common too!" Waluigi added.

"We got this under control!" Kaylee said.

"Whatever, now go and beat the other Gyms! Now that you beat me, I refuse to allow you to lose to anybody else!" Waluigi said. "Yeah! For the both of us!" Wario slid in.

The four waved as they exited the Gym and entered the streets of Jadevine Town.

"What a sec, Miryla Town has a Pokeathlon Dome too!" Kaylee remembered. "Looks like that's a big city for all of us!"

"Yup. But before we go…" Merlee reminded them. They each turned around, fully aware of what would come next...

* * *

**(A/N: Our little group will soon become smaller. Also, the next town is by Sarasaland. Hmmm. Who could our next Leader be? Be sure to R&R. See you later!)**


	15. Merlee's Goodbye and the Desert Adventur

**(A/N: I'm grateful for the amount of views and visitors the story has received. Thank you very much! Now, this will be a two-part chapter since a lot of things happen. Enjoy!)**

* * *

_Chapter 15: Merlee's Goodbye and the Desert Adventure_

Lorenzo, Kaylee, Sam and Merlee were outside of the Gym. Sure it was great to win the badges but something was about to go underway.

"I have to stick to my promise." Merlee spoke. "I now know what I want to do on my journey, but I had an amazing time traveling with you all."

"It was great having you travel with us too, Merlee." Lorenzo said.

"Yeah!And we're so happy you know what you wanna do on your journey!" Kaylee added. "Maybe it was destiny that allowed my Embarge to slam into you that one day!"

Merlee's eyebrow twitched. "I'm surprised my brain's still functioning from that hit."

"Nonetheless, it's going to be pretty rough out there," Sam spoke. "You know with the Koopa Troop and all."

Merlee thought for a moment. "I know it'll be tough, but I have Embarge, and hopefully many new friends in the future! Sure it'll be a little nerve racking to travel this big kingdom by myself, but I'm ready for it!"

The other three nodded, pleased that she was ready for whatever this crazy kingdom will throw at her.

"Well, goodbye for now, Merlee! I know you'll do great!" Lorenzo waved.

"Catch you later! Make us proud, kay?" Kaylee called.

"Safe travels, Merlee!" Sam finished.

The girl waved before heading off in the opposite direction, her scarf-clad Embarge on her shoulder. "Come on Embarge, we're going to turn the contest world on its head!"

"Embarge!" it cried.

"Wait a sec, Merlee! You're going the wrong way!" Lorenzo shouted.

"Oh yeah," she groaned, unhappy that her dramatic departure was ruined.

* * *

The gang was now back to being a trio, as it was in the beginning of the journey. As they left Jadevine Town, Lorenzo looked down at his map.

"We're leaving the southern part of the kingdom. Soon we'll be in the western part!"

Kaylee looked excited. "There'll be new places to see and Pokemon to catch!" "

You got that right." Sam said. "But first, there's that desert..."

The grass and trees had started to grow more sparse and the weather got hotter with each step.

"Oh man, now that I think about it, how will I cross a desert!" Lorenzo muttered.

"I dunno, you just do." Kaylee shrugged.

"You don't say." Sam replied.

There were a couple other people on the route, mostly hitchhikers. But one in particular caught their eye. It was a Hammer Bro with an explorer outfit.

"Alright, if I want to make it big like that Kolorado guy, then I have to find that treasure!" the Hammer Bro said.

"Treasure?" Lorenzo and Kaylee said in unison.

The Hammer Bro looked over. "Yeah that's right, treasure! But I'm finding it first! I'm the seasoned explorer around her!Got it!"

"I take that as a challenge!" Kaylee crossed her arms.

"Imagine what we could do with all that cash." Lorenzo said dreamily. "I could buy a private island or my own Gym!"

"Hold on!" Sam stepped in between them. "We're on a journey. Do we really need to be wasting our time on a treasure that might not even exist?"

Lorenzo and Kaylee though for a moment."Heck yeah!"

Sam fainted anime style.

"Well if you're serious about this expedition, then you better toughen up. The desert's no place for lightweights!" The Hammer Bro challenged.

"Don't worry, I have great instincts!" Kaylee shot back. "Come on guys!" she went deeper into the desert.

"I'm actually having second thoughts about this." Lorenzo said.

"Why, just why?" Sam said to himself as he reluctantly followed. Regardless of their protesting, the search has begun.

* * *

It was about 10 minutes in and already the heat was getting to them. "Too much sand, too much heat, too much DESERT!" Lorenzo cried as he dragged his feet.

Sam was managing to walk with only his mechanical arm taking the steps as he propped himself up. "Why do the walking when you have this gadget?" he said.

Kaylee was still rather energetic as she made her way up a dune. As she scanned the area, all she could see were sand and cacti in each direction. "Let's keep going." she declared as she marched on. Lorenzo and Sam followed.

There were quite a few desert Pokemon around. Cacnea, Vullaby, Sandile, Sandshrew, and much more. They also happened to see the Hammer Bro again, and this time he was accompanied by a small dinosaur Pokemon. It was primarily red with short arms and it had small, horn like protrusions on its head.

"It's him again." Lorenzo said. "And what could that be?" The creature was scanned.

"Blazaurus, the Flare Dino Pokemon. They attack with fangs made of magma and are said to be distantly related to Tyrunt."

"I gotta say, I'm impressed that you guys are making it this far." The Hammer Bro said.

"It's mostly dumb luck." Lorenzo admitted. "Anyway, could you tell us your name?"

"My name's Malik, and I'll be world famous for finding that treasure!"

Sam sighed. "I still don't believe it's real. It was probably just a myth to get the poorer citizens lost in the desert in hopes of finding a nonexistent treasure."

Kaylee gasped. "Did you just attempt to trample his dream! Tsk tsk!"

"Someone had to say it." Sam answered.

As the gang was busy contesting whether the treasure existed, 2 shadowy figures watched on from beyond the dunes.

"Treasure? Bowser would love that!" the voice said.

The other figure turned around. "Iggy. Our mission was to find the Star Prodigies not go on a treasure hunt."

"Come on, you're still a newbie, I know what I'm talking about. That treasure might have something to do with the Star Prodigies! So whaddaya say Wes?"

"Ugh, fine. But after this, let's take more suspects." The two darted off into the distance.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set and the heat lessened a bit."You three lightweights better be grateful that a seasoned adventurer is taking you under his wing." Malik said.

"Well of course," Lorenzo said happily. "Sure we challenged each other and all, but we probably would've been dead if we navigated on our own."

"Speak for yourself." Kaylee grumbled.

"The sun's setting fast and deserts can get very cold at night, so be prepared." Malik warned.

Suddenly Sam noticed something in the distance. "What's that?"

The others looked over and observed a structure amidst the billowing sand.

"Ah there it is. Inferno Palace!" Malik said matter-of-factly.

"That must be wear the treasure is! How has no one gotten to it yet?" Kaylee asked.

"It's been spoken of for as long as I can remember." Malik explained. "Some say it's just a mirage and others say that as you approach it, it get's farther away. But the few people that have managed to enter the place have never been seen again."

"If that's the case, then what's the use of trying to get there?" Lorenzo asked.

"You're saying that I should give up? Look kid, you have to have an adventurous spirit in life. Go where nobody's gone, do what nobody's done. But never give up!"

'Never give up.' Lorenzo thought. This seemed to resonate with him.

"This seems dangerous though, you said that explorers don't come back from there..." Sam said.

"True true. Bah! Whatever! You three can stay back here, but I'm getting that treasure!" Malik declared as he walked off with Blazaurus. The other three looked on in concern.

"Let's hope for the best." Kaylee said. Sam nodded. Suddenly Lorenzo went after him.

"Lorenzo! Where are you going!?" Sam asked.

"To the temple!" he called back.

"What're you nuts!?" Sam cried.

Kaylee also ran after him. "You can't leave me out of this!" she shouted.

"Oh for Arceus's sake!"Sam facepalmed. "Looks like I have no other choice. Hold on guys!"

The three went running after Malik. What lies ahead in the temple? Only time will tell…

* * *

**(A/N:New Pokemon: Blazaurus: Fire/Ground  
**

**The desert expedition is underway. But it seems like there's more competition for the treasure than the group originally thought. Make sure to stick around for the conclusion of the desert saga!)**


	16. Trials in Inferno Palace!

**(A/N: I'm back, after what felt like forever. Anyway, this picks up right after the last part and it's a pretty long chapter. Enjoy! (Hopefully...))  
**

* * *

_Chapter 16: Trials in Inferno Palace!_

After about an hour of walking through the desert, Lorenzo quickly regretted his decision.

"Sure it sounds cool to be adventurous, but I also like living too." he panted.

"Lightweight." Malik spat.

Fortunately for the group, the Inferno Palace was getting closer and closer.

"Wow, we're getting close!" Kaylee beamed.

"That's true, but we don't know what awful things lie ahead." Sam said.

"Those who do attempt to explore this place are never seen again." Malik spoke in a serious voice. "But that's not stopping me."

Eventually they stood before the entrance. It had a large, intimidating presence. Several large pillars and elaborate inscriptions added a decorative touch to the temple.

"H-he he, I'm not afraid!" Kaylee chuckled nervously. "Let's go guys!" She stiffly walked inside. Lorenzo followed after slowly.

"I'm the explorer here! Let me lead!" Malik insisted. "Blaz!" Blazaurus cried as it walked by his side.

"Go for it." Sam answered.

The interior was dark and decrepit. The footsteps of the four explorers, and Pokemon, echoed throughout the expansive halls. The walls were adorned with lavish paintings of Fire Flowers, ancient civilians, and most notably, Fire-type Pokemon.

"I guess the ancient people who lived here revered Fire types." Sam noted as they walked. Lorenzo noticed a depiction of a stone chest and a large man standing guard.

"Who could that be?" Lorenzo whispered to himself as he gazed at it.

Suddenly, Kaylee's voice brought him back to the present. "Come on Lorenzo!"

"Coming!" he replied as he caught up with them. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he sensed a feeling of dread from the depiction...

* * *

Meanwhile, in the opposite side of the temple, Iggy and Wes were walking around.

"The treasure must be deep in the temple. Ooh I can't wait to get my hands on it!" Iggy said as he rubbed his hands together. Wes noticed a depiction on the wall similar to the one that Lorenzo had seen.

"Hmm, what do we have here?" Wes said as he ran his hand over the stony surface.

"Ah, that must be a fabled guardian of the treasure." Iggy walked over to him. "It's said that his spirit never quite left this place. But we're prepared." the Koopaling pulled out an unnecessarily large taser gun.

Wes gazed at the taser. "Where were you even keeping that thing and how can you tase a ghost?"

"Details, details! Now let's move on!" Iggy said as they trudged onwards.

* * *

Deeper in the temple, the gang had to fight through a group of attacking Pokemon.

"Pikuleck, Wing Attack!" Lorenzo shouted and the Woodpecker Pokemon knocked out a Baltoy.

"Sheebop, Headbutt!" Kaylee commanded. Sheebop jumped and struck a Sandslash, taking it down.

Sam and Malik were being cornered by two menacing looking Krokorok.

"Blazaurus, Fire Spin!" "Debling, Bubblebeam!" the two ordered at once.

The bubbles merged with the fiery tornado and engulfed the aggressive Ground types, sending them running away like terrified children.

"That's right you better run!" Malik spat.

"Looks like that's the last of them." Lorenzo sighed. "How you holding up team?"

"You talk like your the leader." Malik said as he gave Blazaurus a berry. Kaylee laughed a little and Lorenzo rolled his eyes. "Now, we should be getting close so let's move on."

As they strolled from corridor to corridor, Kaylee thought she heard something.

"What was that?" she paused, causing her Sheebop to bump into her.

"Shiba!" it puffed up in anger.

"Settle down, you. I think I heard something!"

"What'd you hear?" Lorenzo asked.

Malik paused. "Yup, there's no doubt about it, we're not alone in here."

"Well duh," Sam said. "There's like 50 Pokemon in here."

"Not what I meant!" Malik snapped. "I mean, there are other people here. I heard footsteps." Suddenly the steps grew closer. Everyone kept their guard up.

However, the sound of the steps started to echo towards a different direction.

"Maybe we should follow them?" Lorenzo suggested. "Why not." Sam said as he released Grolinguito for backup.

Kaylee also released Embarge. "Let's move team!"

"Now YOU'RE talking like your the leader." Malik sighed.

Farther down the hall, Iggy and Wes were quickening their pace.

"They're catching on to us." Iggy whispered. "We have to make sure we get there first. Power walk!" Wes simply kept his eyes forward.

"They don't sound too far ahead." Lorenzo said as their own footsteps reverberated off of the stone floor. Kaylee squinted and tried to make out the shape of the figures. She vaguely saw a boy and a shorter creature, yet their hair was what stood out her the most: A spiky style on the left and a large mohawk on the left.

"Oh, Arceus. Them!" she nearly shouted.

"Whaa?" Lorenzo yelped which caused Sam to cover his mouth with his mecha-arm. "You'll alert them. Let's stay quiet." he whispered in an aggravated tone.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about but I'm moving forward!" Malik marched on.

At that moment a trembling was felt throughout the temple. Embarge stumbled a bit and knocked into Sheebop, who in turn fell on Debling, who landed on poor Grolinguito like a domino effect.

Lorenzo's head whipped back and forth. "What was that?"

"I don't know but I don't like it!" Kaylee shook her head.

Malik looked around. "Yup. Intruders are definitely not welcomed here."

"Come on let's split while they're distracted." Iggy said. He and Wes delved into a chamber.

The tremors began to grow more intense as the foundation of the temple quaked all around them. "Sheesh what's this all about!" Sam yelled.

"The spirit of the temple guardian..." Malik whispered. "It must be so."

A crackling sound began to fill the chamber. As Kaylee turned to look, she was suddenly faced with a horrifying sight: a large pillar was about to topple over on her.

"KAYLEE!" The others screamed. Unfortunately, she couldn't bring herself to move...

Suddenly, Sheebop and Embarge tackled her out of the way. Kaylee and Sheebop rolled to safety but to everyone's horror Embarge was crushed by the heavy pillar! "EMBARGE!" she finally found the voice to shout.

The others ran to the pillar. "No no no no! This isn't good at all!" Lorenzo panicked.

"Quit panicking and help lift up the pillar! We're going to need everyone's help!" Malik shouted.

The boys nodded. "Neptide, Wormite go!" "Burnion, come out!"

Lorenzo, Sam, Malik, Neptide, Grolinguito, Debling, Blazaurus, Sheebop and even Pikuleck, Wormite and Burnion were trying their best to lift the enormous pillar.

Chipsqueek also sensed trouble and came out of the ball on Kaylee's waist, all while she stood and hoped for a miracle.

"It's too heavy!" Lorenzo yelled.

"Try harder!" Malik gritted his teeth as everyone heaved.

Suddenly a flash emerged. The group jumped back at the bright light that came from the bottom of the fallen pillar.

"Embarge...?" Kaylee said weakly. The pillar slowly began to rise up.

Embarge stood up, holding the pillar above his head. With a cry he began to change from. His arms and legs grew longer and stronger. The spike like growths on his head increased from 3 to 4 and he gained more a taller, more human-like stance.

Kaylee was in too much shock to process what was going on. What stood before her now was not Embarge but an evolved Pokemon.

Lorenzo shakily scanned it with the Pokedex. "Flamber, the Magma Pokemon and the evolved form of Embarge. These Pokemon have remained unchanged since prehistoric times. They has been observed to make tools, training gear and weapons out of magma."

"A-mazing!" Kaylee sounded.

"Ber!" It yelled as it launched the pillar far away.

"I'm so happy for you!" she hugged him. The other Pokemon were happy as well. He blushed slightly at new-found attention and turned away.

Lorenzo exhaled deeply. "THAT was way too close for comfort!"

Sam nodded. "That did a number on us all. How you holding up Malik?"

The Hammer Bro was in tears. "Such a touching display of affection!" "Blaaz!" Blazaurus was overcome as well.

But Iggy's maniacal laughter brought everyone back to reality. "Treasure!" they cried.

Iggy and Wes were in a separate room. "Was the crazy laugh necessary." Wes groaned.

"Um, YEAH! The treasure is ours!" Iggy said as he examined the stone reliquary "We'll have the last laugh!"

"Yeah, yeah just open it." Wes said.

"Wait!" Lorenzo cried as they all burst in.

"It looks like you're too late!" Iggy laughed as he held the relic.

"Put that thing down before you hurt yourself." Sam said.

"Insulting my intelligence? Ha! I made far better gadgets than that stupid mechanical arm!" Iggy shot back.

"Oooh!" the others said on the side. Sam glared at them with cross veins floating above his head, effectively shutting them up.

"For YOUR information, this was invented by Professor E. Gadd, the greatest technological mind in the kingdom!"

"Whatever you say small fry. Your kind only functions well as foot soldiers." Iggy taunted.

And thus, Sam's berserk button has been pushed. "OKAY THAT'S IT! You're going down!" Sam shouted. "Grolinguito, Debling, Burnion, ATTACK!" The three prepared Razor Leaf, Icy Wind and Flame Burst respectively.

"Oh you wanna go? Come on Wes!" Iggy exclaimed.

"Alright." Wes said as he grabbed a Pokeball. "I still owe them for what they did in Lumni Woods!"

"Come at us!" Kaylee shouted.

"It's four on two, you don't stand a chance." Lorenzo said.

"Oh please! Come on out Topiama!" Wes called.

"Go Spinda!" Iggy shouted.

"A Spinda!?" Sam cried. "And you're insulting ME?"

Lorenzo looked at Topiama. "I see Leacria evolved." The Pokemon was scanned.

"Topiama, the Cotton Llama Pokemon and the evolved form of Leacria. Often found in crags and mountains, it spreads about spores that allow plant life to prosper."

The 6 trainers stood facing each other. Topiama brushed its leg against the ground. "I'll crush you just like I did in Springleaf Town!" Wes said threateningly.

"I've improved since then and I have the help of my friends!" Lorenzo called. "Neptide, use Aqua Cutter!" The Sea Drake unleashed a slash on Topiama.

"Psychic, Spinda!" Iggy shouted.

Spinda stopped the the attack in its place.

"Blazaurus, Fire Fang!" Malik commanded. The fiery dino chomped down on Spinda.

Wes growled. "Topiama, Spore Storm!"

"Spore Storm? What's that?" Lorenzo asked.

Topiama shook its fur and a cloud of spores was launched at each opposing Pokemon. When the spores cleared, a couple of them fell asleep.

"Ahh, wake up!" Kaylee shouted as she shook Sheebop. Burnion and Pikuleck fell asleep too.

"Spore Storm inflicts damage and may cause the opponents to fall asleep!" Iggy adjusted his glasses. Sam looked at the treasure under Iggy's arm.

'Here goes nothing.' The Goomba lunged forward and head bonked Iggy causing him to slip and toss the chest in the air.

"It's ours!" Lorenzo yelled, arms stretched.

Wes shoved him out of the way. "No way! It's ours!"

Kaylee pushed him away. "Nuh uh! Ours!" Eventually the chest managed to fall out of each of their grips.

"It's gonna fall!" Iggy cried.

However, Blazaurus managed to dive and catch the chest before it hit the floor.

"Huh!?" Iggy and Wes yelped. "Quick! Finish them!" Malik commanded.

The three nodded. "Neptide, Aqua Cutter!"

"Flamber, Ember!"

"Grolinguito, Razor Leaf!" The three Pokemon unleashed the attacks with all of their might causing Iggy and Wes to fly through the ceiling and into the skies.

"You're so incompetent!" Wes yelled as they flew through the skies. "Oh please, you don't know a thing!" Iggy replied. "By the way. AAAAHH!" Ding!

Blazaurus ran over to the group with the treasure in its stubby arms.

"Nice work Blazaurus!" Lorenzo cheered.

"What's inside? What's inside!?" Kaylee asked had already spent two chapters waiting for this.

Malik held it up. "I've waited my entire life for this moment!"

"Just open it." Sam said flatly. Malik opened it and everyone gazed inside... it was... it was.

A crude crayon drawing of Bowser.

* * *

Before the comically outraged reactions of the heroes are shown, Iggy and Wes are shown landing in a tree far away.

"Thank gosh we had a soft landing!" Iggy smiled.

"Whatever. All that matters is that the plan worked." Wes said.

Iggy laughed. "It worked like a charm! Topiama used Spore Storm and in the midst of the confusion, I switched the real chest with a fake one." He pulled out the true chest. "Our good acting made it seem even more believable!"

"Yup, now we gotta get back to headquarters stat!"

"Righto! Bowser will be thrilled!"

* * *

When the gang left the temple, it was dawn. They had been pretty disappointed about the whole treasure debacle but nonetheless it was an exciting adventure.

"That was an ORDEAL!" Lorenzo panted.

"Tell me about it." Sam said. "I guess all that treasure and temple guardian nonsense was true after all."

"Definitely. The thing almost killed me!" Kaylee spoke. "Any-who, what will you do now, Malik?"

"That's easy. Discover the next hidden treasure!" The Hammer Bro gazed at the rising sun. "But who knows? Maybe this Bowser drawing is worth big bucks!"

Sam sweatdropped. "I doubt that."

"Well I guess it's time we part ways." Kaylee said.

"Yup, we're on our way to Miryla Town" Lorenzo added. "But it was great exploring with you!"

"Likewise, lightwe-, I mean, friends." Malik smiled.

The Hammer Bro eventually set off in the opposite direction. "Safe travels!"

"Bye!" they all called. With the sun rising above them, Lorenzo, Kaylee and Sam would be one step closer to their destination. And boy was that desert intense!

* * *

**(A/N: New Pokemon: Topiama: Grass  
**

**Update: I always occasionally slip and call Grolinguito by his prototype name. If you see "Rapidrow" I apologize for the confusion.**

**Anyway, There you have it. It was a pretty loaded chapter but I enjoyed writing it. But, le gasp, the villains have succeeded for once! What lies ahead?)**


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